Heart by Heart
by enchanted-nova
Summary: Princess Lucy Heartfilia has just returned home from the capital, Crocus, after a year. Upon her return she meets a peculiar slave, who catches her eye. Full Summary Inside. AU story.
1. Slaves

**Author's Note: **Hello there kids! This is my first attempt at a Fairy Tail fanfic, I've just recently got into it and just finished the first season. I am still learning about the series, so please forgive my ignorance. This story is going to be an AU story and it is inspired by the movie **_Pompeii,_**however the only part it is inspire from is the whole slave and princess love story bit. I really hope you all enjoy it and I would definitely appreciate feedback and don't forget to favorite and follow!

**Summary: **Princess Lucy Heartfilia has just returned home from the capital, Crocus, after a year. Upon her return she meets a peculiar slave, who catches her eye. Unfortunately for the Princess, someone from Crocus has followed her home. A twisted man, who wishes to marry her in order to get a hold of the Celestial Keys that the Heartfilia family treasures. Lucy refuses to let this happen and with the help of her friends, the slave, they take on this twisted man to save the Kingdom of Magnolia.

**Warnings: **AU. Sexual Content. Cursing. Violence.

_EDITED: 8/5/2014_

* * *

**Slaves**

She sighed softly, sinking back into her seat. The carriage ride seemed like it was never going to end, but she was happy just knowing she was leaving that awful city of lechers and crooks. It was a relief knowing she would be home in Magnolia, where she truly belonged. A smile graced her pink lips as she leaned out the window, seeing the city skyline in the distance. She let out a breath of relief and turned her attention to the group of men bound in chains just up ahead.

"Are those men slaves?" Lucy asked, glancing to her maid and confidant. The young woman with the long dark red hair looked out the window of the carriage, pulling the white lace blinds back.

The carriage the two young ladies were riding in suddenly came to a violent stop. Lucy and Erza, her maid, nearly fell from their seats. The blonde woman gasped when she heard the sound of wooden snapping. Without hesitation, Lucy Heartfilia, the Princess of Magnolia exited the carriage.

"Lucy wait," Erza called out, trying to reach for her.

When Lucy was out of the carriage, her eyes fell upon one of the horses laying on the ground. He was breathing heavily and tried to raise his head, but was unable to do so. Her heart sank as she saw the power creature in such pain. His dapple gray fur was getting soaked with mud, and his harness was probably making him even more uncomfortable. She looked away sadly, but turned her attention to the group of slaves.

One slave in particular caught her attention, he was unlike any other slave she had seen before. It might have been the fact that his air was a dusty pinky color, that he appeared different to her. There was more to it than that though, for when he looked back at her she saw the fire in his eyes. Most slaves would be broken with lifeless and dull eyes, but not that slave. His eyes looked to the horse for a moment before looking to the slave master.

He held his iron clamped wrist up to the brutish slave master. "Let me help the horse," the slave said firmly.

"Get back in line scum!" The slave master slapped the slave clear across the face.

Lucy flinched at the brutality and narrowed her eyes. "Stop!" she shouted, surprised that she had even intervened in the first place. Erza came beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Please, let him help the horse. Untie him, it's alright."

The slave master looked at the young princess and nodded his head, turning his attention back to the slave. "Don't get any stupid ideas, scum." He unlocked the clamps from the slave's wrist and watched him as he walked to the horse.

As the slave knelt down, he tried to calm the horse as best he could. Lucy looked at his muscled arms and strong hands as the stroked the horse's neck. She swallowed hard and walked over to the slave and horse. Gathering up the skirt of her dress, Lucy carefully and slowly knelt down beside the two. The slave looked at her with kind eyes and let out a breath.

"Put your weight down on his shoulder," the slave said to her and she nodded as she placed her hands on the horse's shoulder. When she pressed down, she looked back at the slave as he shushed the nickering horse. "Easy boy, it'll be alright." He put one hand under the horse's face and the other on the other side. In one quick motion, the slave snapped the horse's neck.

The sound of the bone popping rang in Lucy's ears. She shivered and licked her lips, slowly moving her hands from the horse's shoulder. The slave took in a deep breath and looked at the blonde princess beside him. He was about to speak to her, but was met with a crop whip to the back of the head. Lucy gasped when the slave flinched and was commanded to stand to his feet. When he stood, Lucy stared up at him until Erza came to her side and helped her up.

"My apologies, Princess Lucy, these men are savages," the slave master explained before turning back to the slave. "Get back in line you scoundrel!" He shoved the slave back towards the line where he was immediately chained back up.

"Please," Lucy began, gaining the slave master's attention. "Don't hurt him, he performed a kindness to the horse. The only kindness that could be done."

"Princess?" the slave master questioned with a raised brow.

"Let's get back into the carriage, Lucy," Erza said, ushering the young girl towards the carriage.

As Lucy was about to climb in, she stopped and turned back to look at the pink haired slave. "What is your name?" she asked him.

He looked at her in surprise. "You do not need to know my name, Princess. I am not worthy of knowing you." He smiled weakly and bowed slightly. Lucy's eyes widened at his response, but she accepted his answer.

"Well," she paused and smiled at him. "Thank you. For the horse."

The slave stared at her for a moment, surprised even more so than before.

When the two young ladies were back inside the carriage, several slaves lifted the carriage's wheel from the hole it had fallen into. Lucy looked back out the window at the slaves as they left them behind. She sat back in her seat and sighed softly, wondering if she'd ever come across that nameless slave again.

"What was that all about?" Erza asked.

Lucy blinked a few times and looked to her maid. "What are you talking about?"

Erza laughed lightly and shook her head. "You know what," she said with a sly smirk on her lips. "The entire time we were in Crocus, I never saw you look at a man the way you did to that slave."

"I'm just surprised by him is all," Lucy explained.

"Surprised? At what?" Erza probed with a curious look on her face.

Lucy looked at her friend and giggled lightly. "I didn't think he would have the strength to do that." She shrugged her shoulders and played with a ribbon that was wrapped around her waist. As she was twirling it around her finger, Erza was staring at her in disbelief.

"Did you not see his muscles?" Erza inquired with a chuckle. "He was obviously very strong." The redhead nudged Lucy in the ribs with her elbow.

"Oh please," Lucy giggled not wanting to be teased any further. She had to admit though, that slave was incredibly strong and he was rather handsome. It was a shame he was a slave, it was a shame that many people were slaves and beaten daily.

"Perhaps we'll see him again," Erza commented, and Lucy glanced at her.

"Maybe so," Lucy whispered with a small smile.


	2. Magnolia

**Author's Note: **Hey guys! I must say I was so surprised from the response I received! I didn't think that it would turn out so well and I'm so excited to bring you all the next chapter! Thank you all so much for favoring and following this story, it really means a lot to me. Hopefully this next chapter keeps you interested and I apologize for any typos. So please enjoy this next chapter! Be sure to leave a review!

**Special Thanks: **Doraguniru, Dark-Otaku-One-Of-Many, Guest, OmegaSage037, and Rose Tiger for leaving some comments. I hope to hear from you all again!

**Warnings: **AU. Sexual Content. Cursing. Violence.

_EDITED: 8/5/2014_

* * *

**Magnolia**

The carriage suddenly came to a stop, but Lucy was positive they had not yet arrive at her family's estate. She poked her head out the window of the carriage, realizing they were just at the city's gates. A bright smile came onto her face and she called out to the driver, asking him why they had stopped. The driver turned around and looked into the Princess's pretty honey brown eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Princess Lucy, but it appears we've run into the Festival of Lights traffic. All these drunkards and merchants are everywhere," he explained with a shake of his head. Lucy nodded her head and sank back into her seat. She pressed her lips together and tapped her chin, getting the idea to explore the city as they prepared for the festival that would be taking place for the weekend.

"What's that look for?" Erza asked, noticing the scheming smile growing on the blonde's face. Lucy held out her hand, and Erza gave her a confused look. When she didn't take Lucy's hand, the Princess grabbed Erza's instead and pulled her out of the carriage.

"Come on, let's go!" Lucy exclaimed happily as she stepped out onto the crowded streets. The driver of their carriage wasn't kidding, the entire city of Magnolia was overflowing with people. Despite the large crowd and the chaos, Lucy dove right into it. She was so happy to be home after spending nearly a year in the capital.

"Princess! Princess, where are you going?" The driver waved his hands in the air, trying to get her attention.

"Don't worry, we'll head to the estate!" Lucy called out, waving to the old man before looping her arm through Erza's and dragging her along. The driver was going to protest more, but the girls were already too far into the crowd of people to hear him. As Lucy led the way, Erza stayed by her side taking in the beautiful city of Magnolia. She had to admit she missed the city as well, this was their home.

"It's really good to be back, isn't it?" Erza asked when they stopped on a corner where a food vendor was selling some roasted corn. The redhead looked around at the busy streets and smiled brightly. The delicious smells of Magnolia's food filled their noses, the decorative pillars, the cute shops, and the lively people, it hadn't changed at all since they had left. "Is something on your mind, Lucy? A certain pink haired brute perhaps?" Erza asked with a light-hearted laugh.

Lucy nudged her friend and rolled her eyes. "No, it's just...I'm so glad to be back. I remember everything," Lucy paused for a moment and slowly spun around in a circle taking in every street corner, lamp, and store. "Crocus was nice, but it will never be my home." The blonde light out a sigh and turned to the food vendor, ordering two pieces of roasted corn for herself and Erza.

"You never did tell me why you wanted to leave early," Erza pointed out as they took their corn and started walking towards the city's square.

Lucy looked at her friend and sighed softly. "For many reasons, but it doesn't matter now. We're here and just in time for the Festival of Lights," The blonde beamed brightly and looked around as people were decorating their shops with beautiful paper lanterns of all colors. She knew when the festival began tonight the city would look heavenly.

"Are you sure it doesn't matter?" Erza asked before taking a bite out of her food. "You seemed pretty upset the night before we left." The redhead stared at her friend, waiting for an answer. She could see the blonde looked like she was having a conflict within herself. Erza didn't know much about what happened with Lucy, since she wasn't allowed to attend every party with her. Sometimes, Lucy just had to go through it alone and sometimes she came back home upset. Not that she would ever really talk about it.

"It's not worth talking about here in Magnolia," Lucy said firmly.

Erza looked down from Lucy and stared at the ground for a moment. She knew if she kept prodding, Lucy would just push her away. Weighing out her options, Erza nodded and told her she wouldn't bring it up anymore. Lucy seemed relieved with the news and gave her friend a hug.

"Well, if it isn't Princess Lucy and her lovely maid, Erza," a masculine voice came from behind them. The two young ladies turned to the speaker and smiled upon seeing their longtime friend, Gray Fullbuster. He seemed a little taller than when they left, his hair was still as black as the night sky, and he seemed as muscular as ever. "I thought you two weren't coming back for another couple of weeks." He approached them and smiled happily.

"What can I say, we were tired of Crocus. Plus we've never missed the Festival of Lights, and we weren't about to start now," Lucy said as she opened up her arms to give Gray a hug. He chuckled and hugged her tight and picked her off the ground, spinning her in a circle. "You look good, you seem stronger than I remember."

"That's because I am," he admitted as he put Lucy down and hugged Erza. The redhead grabbed his upper arm and squeezed it. Gray flexed his arm and Erza laughed. "See, I have worked hard since you ladies left."

"So how did you do it?" Erza asked with a raised brow.

Gray smirked slyly. "You can thank your lover." He nudged Erza in the ribs as she turned bright red where her face nearly matched her hair. Lucy started laughing and Gray joined in on it. "He finally convinced me to join the city's guard."

"You joined the guard!" Lucy exclaimed in disbelief.

Gray nodded his head and stifled a laugh. He rubbed the back of his neck and looked at the two girls who seemed very surprised. "Hard to believe, but it beats slavery."

"Speaking of slaves," Erza began, and Lucy tried to shush her. "Lucy seems to have fancy a slave." The redhead wiggled her brows at Gray, who seemed very intrigued by her words.

"You mean to tell me, you go to Crocus for a year and the best you can find is a slave?" Gray teased.

Lucy rolled her eyes, disappointed that Erza had to bring up the pink haired slave again. Magnolia was a large city, she'd probably never see him again. She hated to think of what his fate would be. Magnolia had just about everything for a slave from working out in the fields to being used for entertainment in the arenas. She hated it, but there was nothing she could do about it. Many slaves were slaves because they couldn't afford to pay their taxes, committed a crime, or they were just that unlucky.

"Among all the fancy parties and stinky cheeses, most men in the city of Crocus were pigs." Lucy smiled proudly at her words.

"I see," Gray said, glancing at Erza. The redhead nodded her head and pursed her lips slightly. "Well, you're back and that's all that matters. Do you two want an escort up to the estate?" he asked graciously.

"We would love one," Erza said, looping her arm through one of Gray's arms. Lucy giggled when he held his other arm out to her. She shook her head and looped her arm through his.

* * *

**-xOx-**

* * *

Natsu Dragneel looked around the slave market just outside of the city of Magnolia. They were ankle deep in mud and sludge, it was repulsive and smelled disgusting too. That was the life of a slave though, at least a low class slave such as himself. Some slaves were lucky and got actual beds and decent food, not a burlap sack and some itchy hay. The last time Natsu got to sleep in an actual bed was when he was five years old, which was nearly eighteen years ago. His small village was raided by the military of Crocus. They wiped out his entire village and killed his family, he was the only one to survive.

"This one here," the slave master who had brought them into Magnolia. "Step forward slave." He waved for Natsu to come closer, so he came as close as he could. Unfortunately, his ankles were shackled, so he could only come forward three steps. His feet slipped a bit in the mud.

"Young. Strong. Healthy." The man examining him was slim, mildly muscular at best. His hair appeared black, but Natsu could see it was more of a dark blue and was slicked back. The lower portion of his face was covered in stubble and he appeared to be in his mid-thirties. "Who is this slave?" he inquired of the slave master, stuffing his hands into his white jacket.

"Don't know much about him other than he's been a slave since he was a boy, they claim he is the last of his tribe." The slave master stared at Natsu with a sneer, making him roll his eyes. If it wouldn't mean being killed, Natsu would have snapped his neck by now. For the past three months, Natsu had to put up with the slave master and his derogatory name calling and that forsaken crop whip of his.

"Who was his tribe?" the man asked with intrigue.

The slave master snorted. "Just some rebels, they were killed off by the Crocus Military."

Natsu narrowed his eyes in frustration. He couldn't stand how some of the slave master's spoke of his people. They were not rebels, they were killed for nothing. It seemed that the blue haired man had caught Natsu's stare and approached him.

"Do you remember that day?" the man asked Natsu.

He didn't want to speak, nor respond so he looked away.

"They call him Salamander in the arena," the slave master informed.

"So he is a fighter then?"

"Of course, Macao," the slave master replied with a nod. "I wouldn't show you anything else. I understand what is at stake here."

Macao looked at the slave master for a moment and turned his attention back to Natsu. "Very well then, I'll take him. Have him cleaned up." He walked away after those words.


	3. Heartfilia

**Author's Note: **Hello everyone! Again, a nice turn out for the last chapter, which got me pumped for this chapter! It makes me happy to know that many of you are enjoying this story so far and I can't wait until we really get the ball rolling. So thanks to everyone who has been supporting me up to this point by favoring the story and following it. All you guys rock! Please be sure to leave a review, they keep me motivated to post as quickly as possible!

**Special Thanks: **Stinger10, Bleep Bloop, 3, OmegaSage037, and dreamer! You all are the best for leaving comments, thank you so much!

**Warnings: **AU. Sexual Content. Cursing. Violence.

_EDITED: 8/5/2014_

* * *

**Heartfilia**

The Heartfilia estate was one of the grandest in all of Fiore. It was known far and wide to have the most beautiful gardens, water fountains, and mansion. The fence around the Heartfilia estate was made of beautiful white stone and glamorous silver bars that sparkled in the afternoon sun. The long red dirt road stretched up the hillside on the far north end of Magnolia. From the Heartfilia estate you could see the entire city, it was breathtaking. There was no view in the entire kingdom of Fiore that matched the view from Lucy's balcony.

"Here we are, ladies," Gray Fullbuster said as they stopped before the huge silver gates. Lucy was beaming with excitement as she looked at her childhood home. It was such a beautiful sight after countless days staring at her penthouse in Crocus. She loved the gardens and the river and the mountain views, it was better than seeing a crowded street outside her window.

"Oh look, here's our carriage," Erza said when she heard the squeaking wheels approaching from behind. Lucy turned around and smiled as the driver waved to them. "I bet your father is going to think you bought the entire city of Crocus."

Lucy giggled and walked over to the carriage. "Did you have much trouble getting through the city?"

"I had some help," the driver explained and gestured to the back of the carriage. "Captain Jellal cleared the way for me."

Lucy's eyes widened in surprise as the guard captain of the city came forth atop a golden colored stallion with a flaxen mane and tail. He looked dashing and heroic as he donned the city guard's polished armor. "Captain," Lucy greeted with a curtsey.

"Princess," Jellal smiled as he dismounted from his stallion. He held the reins in one hand and stepped forward, bowing to his majesty. "Had we known you were coming back early we would have had a proper escort meet you at the city gates." He straightened up and looked past the princess when he saw his subordinate, Gray Fullbuster, and the princess's lovely maid, Erza Scarlet.

"It was a last minute thought, otherwise we would have informed you, and everyone else." Lucy looked back to Erza, who was being shy and staying back. "We didn't mind though, it was nice to be able to walk through the city after such a long time away. Isn't that right, Erza?" Lucy probed, hoping to get the redhead to come forth and talk to the guard captain she had been shamelessly crushing on since they were young.

"Yes," Erza agreed with a single nod. Lucy rolled her eyes at her maid and turned back to Jellal Fernandes. He was handsome, tall, blue shaggy hair, warm brown eyes, and a unique red colored tattoo around his right eye. Lucy understood why Erza had such a crush on him, plus he was strong and smart.

"Well, I'm glad to have the two of you back," Jellal said truthfully and turned his attention to Gray. "We have work to do."

"Right." Gray nodded and looked at the two women. "Good to see you two back. Perhaps we'll get drinks at the festival tonight?" Gray smiled and started walking behind Jellal, who was atop his horse again.

"Definitely, we'll see you both tonight!" Lucy called out and waved as the two guards departed. The moment they were outside the gates, Lucy turned to Erza and crossed her arms over her chest. "You should have said something to Jellal."

"I didn't know what to say, it's been a year," Erza retorted.

"How about, nice to see you or how have you been?" Lucy pointed out, shaking her head and laughing lightly. "We can work on it before tonight." She patted her friend's shoulder and looked to her house.

"If we must." Erza sighed in defeat, but laughed when she saw the skeptical look on Lucy's face. Normally she wouldn't have been so nervous around Jellal, but it had been a year and she was at a loss for words. In fact, Erza had no idea she would have seen him so soon. She figured they would see him in a couple of days. The guard was usually busy during festivals, so she just assumed he'd be busy.

"Let's go inside, shall we?" Lucy asked before making her way up the large stone staircase, leading to the double doors that opened into the foyer of the Heartfilia mansion.

Erza followed right behind her. Lucy grabbed one door and Erza grabbed the other. They both looked at each other and nodded, pulling the doors wide open. Lucy walked in first and Erza followed behind. As if on cue, Lucy's mother came from the reading room to see who had come into the house. Her eyes widened in surprise as she spotted her daughter in a lovely light blue dress, standing in the middle of the foyer.

"Darling? Is that you?" her mother asked as she approached her daughter. The older woman, Layla Heartfilia, was gorgeous and almost appeared to be an older sister of Lucy. The two had a remarkable resemblance aside from Layla looking much older. They both shared the same honey brown eyes and golden blonde hair. There was no doubt that Lucy was her mother's daughter. "You look beautiful, Lucy. But what are you doing here? I thought you weren't going to be returning until after the festival."

Lucy took hold of her mother's hands and smiled. "I didn't want to stay in Crocus any longer. There were too many men trying to flatter me with their presence."

Layla chuckled lightly and touched her daughter's face. "It sounds to me that my little girl is no longer a child, but a young woman." She pulled her daughter into a warm embrace and when she pulled away, she brought he daughter's long blonde hair over her slender shoulders.

Erza smiled at the two women and quietly excused herself to allow them to talk in private. Just as she was about to venture further into the house, she stopped and bowed upon seeing Jude Heartfilia, Lucy's father, and his personal caretaker, Loke.

"Miss Erza," Loke greeted with a polite smile and bow. "So it would seem that Princess Lucy has returned early." The man with the orange hair that resembled a lion's mane, looked to Jude Heartfilia.

The two quickly ventured to the foyer and Erza smiled. Just before Lucy and she had departed, Lucy and her father had begun to rebuild their relationship. Most of her young childhood, her father was always busy and never had much time with her. He realized that when she was leaving to spend a year in Crocus, that his little girl had grown into a woman and he was missing some much of the important moments in her life. Just before the two had left, Jude told his daughter that he loved her and that he would miss her. It must have been true, because Jude's dark eyes that were normally hard had softened greatly.

"Welcome home, Princess Lucy," Loke greeted upon seeing the lovely young woman still speaking with her mother. She stopped and turned to see the handsome young man dressed in a fine black suit and tie. "You have been greatly missed." He smiled at her, and Lucy laughed lightly as she came towards Loke. The two hugged and when they parted, Loke put his hand under Lucy's chin. She smiled at him and turned when she heard footsteps approaching.

Jude Heartfilia stepped forward and let out a breath when he saw his daughter. "Lucy," he greeted and opened up his arms. His daughter stared at him for a moment, but smiled and hugged her father tightly.

"Hello, father," she said as they pulled apart. He put his hand under her chin and looked at her closely. "It's good to see you."

"And you," he replied with a kind smile. "We've missed you so much."

"I'm happy to be home," Lucy told him.

Her father laughed lightly and looked to the doors as they came open with several servants walking in with many boxes of luggage. His eyes widened in surprise, and his jaw nearly fell open. "My goodness child! Is this all your luggage! Did you buy the entire city of Crocus?" He shook his head as more and more boxes were carried through the foyer and too Lucy's room on the other side of the mansion. "Come Loke, we have a meeting with Macao. We will talk about your stay in Crocus at dinner, Lucy."

Lucy nodded as her father left the mansion. Loke looked to Lucy and bowed before following after her father.

"You can tell him at dinner, but I want to know now," Layla said to her daughter, gesturing for her to follow her into the reading room. "Did you meet anyone?"

"No, I didn't," Lucy answered with a shake of her head. "There were plenty of people in Crocus, but none worth remembering."

"So it wasn't a man that sent you back early?" her mother asked as they took a seat on a fine leather couch.

Lucy looked away from her mother and stared down at her hands resting on her lap. "Of course not." It was a lie, and Layla had caught it. Instead of pressing her daughter further, she left it at that. When the time was right, she knew Lucy would tell her the reason for her return.

* * *

**-xOx-**

* * *

Macao entered the slave quarters that were beneath the battle arena of Magnolia. Within the quarters were twenty slaves, some were veterans of this arena, while others were new. It was damp in the quarters and dark, cold even. As he climbed down the stone staircase, Macao stopped when he saw the young nurse, Levy McGarden, tending to one of his veteran fighter's wounds. He walked into view and both Levy and his fighter, Gajeel Redfox looked to him.

"How is my champion, Levy?" Macao asked her as he approached them.

Levy McGarden was a young woman, perhaps twenty years of age. She had a love for books and helping people, which was why Macao had asked her to help take care of his fighters for the arena. She was an orphan child when he found her out on the streets all on her own. Macao being the kind hearted man he was took Levy in.

"He's okay, just a minor cut on his arm from practice this morning," Levy explained with a soft smile and looked back to Gajeel. She brushed a strand of her blue hair behind her ear and stood up from the wooden stool she was sitting on. "Droy and Jet are fitting your knew combatant with armor."

"I see," Macao replied and took a seat on the bench beside Gajeel, who remained silent. The fighter was burly and dressed in dark attire with round stud piercings on his arms and face. For the past six years, Gajeel had been the champion fighter of the arena. His hair was pitch black and long, many times Macao had told him he should cut it for it could be a hinderance in battle. Gajeel always refused, claiming it to be his trade mark along with his red demonic like eyes.

"I have to look at a few of the other fighters, please excuse me." Levy bowed to the two men and quietly left them alone in the small common area where the slaves were allowed to dine during the evenings. Gajeel thanked Levy for bandaging him up, causing her to stop and look at him. She smiled at him and nodded once before continuing on her way.

Macao snickered and leaned back against the table behind them. "You've always liked Levy, you're always so nice to her."

Gajeel merely grunted.

"You're four years away from your freedom, Gajeel," Macao pointed out, glancing at the muscled fighter beside him. "I hope you may survive them."

Gajeel snickered and looked at Macao with intrigue. "You think that pink haired pipsqueak will be a match for me?"

Macao smirked and shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe, maybe not. I'm only saying this because I have become fond of you. I hate that King Heartfilia wants me to find you more challenging rivals."

Gajeel looked at Macao in surprise and stood up from the bench. "Careful, Macao. You seem to be going soft." The black haired fighter smiled weakly and turned to the hall, leading to the holding cells. "You have a meeting with King Heartfilia today, don't you?"

Macao nodded his head and stood up, walking down the hall with Gajeel at his side. "He wishes to see the new fighter I have brought to the arena. The Exhibition games begin soon, he wants the best fighter to represent him in next year's Colosseum Battles." They arrived at Gajeel's cell and Macao opened it up for him.

"I will never understand the point of men killing each other for entertainment to the masses," Gajeel snorted as he entered his cell. Macao closed the cell and locked Gajeel within its iron bared walls. "Especially when some of these men have committed only petty crimes."

Macao looked at Gajeel for a moment. "Now, who's going soft?" the blue haired man chuckled lightly.

Gajeel remained silent and took a seat on his small and uncomfortable cot, he was almost too large for it. Macao let out a breath and said a small farewell to his champion before heading back out to the common room. As he entered the room, he stopped as he spotted King Jude Heartfilia and his care taker Loke waiting for him.

"King Heartfilia," Macao greeted with a humble bow.

The blonde haired king turned to Macao and nodded to him. "Where is my new fighter, Macao?"

"Right this way, gentleman," Macao explained as he gestured to another arched corridor that lead to the armory. "The slave has come from a small settlement outside of Crocus and has been a slave since he was a child." They walked down the stone hall that was lit by wooden torches. When they reached the end of the hall, Macao pulled a lever that opened the metal gates to the armory.

"King Heartfilia!" Droy and Jet shouted in unison as the three visitors entered the room.

Macao closed the gates and looked to Droy and Jet. "Where is my new fighter, King Heartfilia wishes to see him." As if on cue, the pink haired slave walked out from behind the paneling where slaves would change into their armor. He was not adorned with any armor though, he was merely wearing a white scarf and matching white trousers. His muscled arms and chest were perfectly exposed and King Heartfilia seemed pleased.

"Young and strong," King Heartfilia said with a single nod. "I'm impressed, Macao. You seem to have good luck when it comes to finding capable slaves." He walked in a circle around the slave, looking him up and down like he was a piece of meat.

"They call him Salamander," Macao informed, and King Heartfilia nodded turning his attention to Loke.

The orange-haired man new that look, and he wasn't overly thrilled about it either. When King Heartfilia looked at Loke like that it normally meant he either need more wine in his glass or he wanted him to take care of something. In this particular case, it was the latter.

"I wish to see what this savage is capable of," King Heartfilia said.

"Sir?" Macao questioned.

"Hand-to-hand combat with Loke," King Heartfilia explained, gesturing to his care taker, who doubled as his body guard. Sometimes Loke missed the days where he was Lucy's body guard, but King Heartfilia believed that Loke would try to pursue her.

"Of course, your majesty," Macao said softly, glancing to the young slave who seemed surprisingly calm. He couldn't quite understand this slave, he seemed to be so devoid of any emotion. Macao assumed that it was from years of being a slave, it was probably easier to just shut off any emotions he had.


	4. Salamander

**Author's Note: **Hey guys! I'm so excited that so many people have followed and favored this story! Also I can't thank you all enough for the comments, I'm so pumped for this story. So this chapter does contain a fight scene, I would just like to say fight scenes are not my strong suite, but I tried to make it as exciting as possible. So I hope you enjoy and as always be sure to leave a review!

**Special Thanks: **OmegaSage037, guest, dreamer, Stinger10, Celtika82, Doraguniru, and Lucinda! I appreciate you guys taking the time to comment!

**Warnings: **AU. Sexual Content. Cursing. Violence.

* * *

**Salamander**

Natsu stared at his opponent. They were standing in the middle of the arena under the late afternoon sun. He looked down to the black metal braces around his wrist. The braces were meant to suppress any and all magic he had within him. It wasn't uncommon for these braces to be on slaves at all times, Natsu was surprised that when he was brought to this arena Macao allowed him to be put in a cell without them. When Natsu looked back up to Loke, he realized that he too was wearing the black metal braces.

"I wasn't always a house slave," Loke informed Natsu as he raised his arm to be level with his face. "I too have magic abilities. My powers were not stripped from me after I was taken from the arena."

It was custom in the Kingdom of Fiore for slaves to have their powers taken from them upon being freed, of course very few ever made it to freedom. Most slaves that were made into house slaves had their powers taken from them regardless. When it came to the arena though, slaves were allowed to keep their powers to create an even greater spectacle. These fights were well planned out and most slaves were either branded with a magic suppressor, or they were bound by the black metal braces.

"I used to be a champion in the arena, they called me the Lion of Magnolia." Loke stood tall after he announced who he was, not that Natsu had ever heard of him. He didn't really care to learn anyones names, nor did he care about champion fighters. In the end, they were all going to be killed, that was the only business fighters had with each other. Natsu seemed cold, but it was only because of years of bloodshed. He witnessed so many people die in the arenas, and he himself had killed many. Natsu didn't believe it was something to be proud of.

Macao stepped in between the two, first looking to Natsu and then to Loke. He let out a breath and looked up at the King's balcony. There the King stood with a smirk on his face and a glint in his eyes. Macao understood what was at stake, but he believed that the King went too far sometimes. Closing his eyes, Macao lifted up his hand, signaling both fighters to prepare for battle.

He opened up his eyes and slashed his hand down towards the ground. "Begin!" Macao jumped out of the middle of the two fighters, and watched carefully from the sidelines. He didn't know much about the newcomer, but he remember Loke. Years ago, Loke was one of the prized fighter in Magnolia, but King Heartfilia brought him out of the arena. The King wished for Loke to protect his daughter, Lucy, for the family was being targeted by traitorous nobles. As required of him, Loke protected Lucy for several years. On her sixteenth birthday, King Heartfilia demanded that Loke serve him only for the fear that Loke would take advantage of his young daughter. Loke knew this and assured the King he would never do such a thing, but agreed to serve him only.

Natsu remained still, he didn't even change his stance. He had his black eyes fixed on Loke, who had crouched slightly as if he were about to lunge forward. The orange haired fighter narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out what he should do. It was obvious Natsu would beat him in pure strength, his body was ropy with muscles after all. Loke also hadn't been the stronger fighter he once was, several years out of the arena had weakened him. He was positive he wasn't as fast as he once was.

A direct strike would probably fail, but without being able to use his magic abilities Loke didn't have much of a choice. To make himself less predictable, Loke ran forward, but move from left to right. He jumped to Natsu's left and went low, sweeping his legs out.

Natsu flipped backwards onto his hands and used his strength to spring back. When his feet touched the ground, his muscles rippled and he stood up. He let out a breath and looked to Loke, who seemed surprised. When Loke stood up, he smirked and cracked his knuckles.

"Smooth move," Loke commented and in and instant lurched forward. This time he was going in for a punch. Natsu narrowed his eyes and leaned back, feeling the wind power packed behind Loke's punch. Had his fist made contact with his jaw, it could have possible been broken. Natsu wasn't able to make a move as Loke went in for a punch to the gut.

Barely dodging the strike, Natsu stumbled back a few steps and glared at Loke. The Lion of Magnolia smirked and charged at Natsu again, doing a round house kick in on swift motion. Natsu wouldn't be able to escape the blow, so he used his arms to block. Stumbling back, Loke cursed and fell onto one knee. Natsu could feel the bruise forming on his arm, Loke may have seemed lean, but he was fast and had loads of power behind his punches.

"Finish him off, Loke!" King Heartfilia commanded from the balcony.

Loke glanced to his King and nodded once, but in those three seconds that he took his eyes off of Natsu, he was struck down. The pink haired slave moved with incredible speed, almost unseen as he closed the distance between them. His fist was pulled back and just before Loke looked back to him, Natsu lowered himself and sprang into action. Using all his strength, Natsu did an uppercut straight into Loke's jaw.

King Heartfilia's eyes widened in shock as Loke collapsed to the ground. Natsu stood above Loke and turned to look at King Heartfilia. He heard Loke curse and turned his attention back to the orange haired man. As he struggled to get up, Natsu debated if he should kick him back to the ground. He decided against it and watched as Loke stood onto his feet.

"That's a mean...right hook you got there," Loke said as he touched his throbbing jaw, the pain pulsing all the way down to his ankles.

Natsu stared at Loke and nodded once, accepting his compliment.

Loke pulled his fist back and just as he threw his punch he shouted, "What do you think of mine!" Natsu held his hand up and caught Loke's fist, feeling his power surging straight up his arm. Had it not been for the magic suppressors, Natsu would have been sent flying across the arena.

The Lion of Magnolia stared at Natsu with anger in his eyes. He cursed and shouted in pain, when Natsu pulled him forward and twisted his arm around. Loke struggled to break free, but Natsu had him trapped. This time, Natsu did not want to show mercy. He pushed Loke forward, causing him to stumble onto the ground. When Loke tried to get up, Natsu walked towards his face and grabbed him by his orange hair. The man cried out in pain, but was instantly silenced when Natsu punched him square in the cheek.

Macao trembled where he stood, he couldn't believe that this guy had so easily fought Loke as if he was nothing. Surely, Loke wasn't as good as he once was, but he didn't expect the Salamander to get away unscathed.

"You should take him to the infirmary, he'll need ice to treat that black eye of his," Natsu said as he looked to Macao.

"You are quite the fighter, Salamander," Macao commented, and Natsu looked down at the ground. "Droy! Jet! Take him to his cell."

"Yes sir!" the two hands of the arena came running from the entry way to the slaves quarters below the arena. Natsu went with them quietly, but stopped just before they went below ground. He glanced over his shoulder and saw King Heartfilia staring at him with amazement. Shaking his head, Natsu continued on his way with Droy and Jet at his side.

"Loke? Can you hear me?" Macao asked as he knelt down beside him.

The man groaned in pain and rolled onto his back, staring up at the sky. "That's one tough bastard, Macao," Loke wiped away the blood that came from the corner of his mouth. He always hated the coppery taste of blood. "Gajeel might finally have a worthy opponent." Loke closed his eyes and let out a breath, his world was still spinning.

The sound of boot crunching the sand caught both men's attention. They looked up as King Heartfilia approached them. "Excellent work, Macao. He is strong." He looked to Loke, whose eyes was swelling badly. "Come, Loke, let's get you home and cleaned up."

"Yes sir," Loke replied as he slowly sat up with the help of Macao.

* * *

**-xOx-**

* * *

"He's late," Lucy said with a sad sigh. She had thought that her father would come to dinner. After a year of being in Crocus, she thought he really would have missed her. Unfortunately, she was wrong, he hadn't really missed her and it appeared that he hadn't changed at all in her absence. He was still the same man who only cared about his business and his slaves that battled in the arena. Of all the things, Lucy hated about her father it was that he supported those bloody spectacles. She hated that people enjoyed watching men battle usually to the death. When she met Loke and got to know him, she hated it even more. To know that someone as kind and charming as Loke was a slave to the arena. The thought repulsed her.

"Don't worry about him, Lucy," Layla told her daughter as she stood from her place at the table. She walked over to her daughter, who was standing beside the window that overlooked the front gates to the estate. "Why don't you get ready for the Festival of Lights? I'm sure your friends would love to hear of your adventures in Crocus." She placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder and gave it a gentle and comforting squeeze.

Lucy sighed sadly and looked to her mother, nodding her head. "Yeah, I suppose I can just tell father about Crocus in the morning." She looked back out the window one more time and gasped. "Look they're back!" She smiled brightly when the carriage came through the gates pulled by two white horses. Gathering up the skirt of her dress, Lucy quickly dashed to the front doors of the mansion to greet her father and Loke.

As Lucy came up to the front doors of the mansion, the two servants opened the doors for her. She smiled and thanked them both, Lucy was always kind to the servants of the household. She came down the stone stairs and called out to her father as he stepped out of the carriage. The moment she reached the carriage though, her smile faded. Loke came out of the carriage and had a swollen eye and busted lip. Quickly Lucy came to his side and felt a great sadness wash over her.

"What happened to you?" she asked him, her voice deep with concern. When he didn't answer her, Lucy turned her attention to her father. "How could you!" she snapped, glaring harshly at her father.

"He will be fine, Lucy," her father assured her, but that answer wasn't good enough. Loke was a dear friend of hers, he'd been there for her since she was ten years old.

"You had him fight? Loke is not a fighter for the arena father!" Lucy hissed. She couldn't handle the thought of Loke being killed in the arena. "He could have been killed!"

"Princess," Loke intervened, he put a hand on her shoulder. She looked at him and frowned. "It's alright, I'll be fine."

The blonde wished to protest, but Loke shook his head before she could say more. Letting out a heavy sigh, Lucy placed her hand on Loke's and nodded once. Her brown eyes drifted back to her father, and she scowled before walking away. "Come on, Loke, let's get you cleaned up."

The King watched his daughter and Loke walk into the mansion. He sighed and looked up at the dining room window, where his wife stood. She closed her eyes and turned away from him. Just as Lucy was disappointed in him, it appeared that his wife was too. Loke was dear to both of them, he always had been ever since King Heartfilia brought him to the mansion. The Lion of Magnolia had a soft side, and he protected both women admirably. At that moment, King Heartfilia realized that he had done wrong. His wife and daughter didn't understand though, there was a lot at stake. If he didn't have the best fighter, they could lose everything.

Lucy had Loke sit on a wooden stool in the kitchen. She was soaking a wash cloth in some cold water, so she could clean the dried blood from his face. As she wrung the access water from the cloth, she turned to Loke. "I can't believe he did this to you," Lucy said softly as she gently wiped the cloth over his face. "Who was it that he had you fight? Gajeel?"

"No," Loke answered with a shake of his head. "A new guy. Pink hair, really burly looking, and one hell of a right hook." The man chuckled softly and looked up at Lucy, who seemed a bit surprised.

"Pink hair?" she repeated.

Loke smiled. "Weird, huh?"

Lucy only nodded and bit her lip, turning back to the sink to wash the cloth off. She couldn't believe that the man who had killed the horse did this to Loke. Or maybe she could, he was incredibly strong, but so was Loke. It was a lot to think about, it made her a little nauseous. Obviously he had to be a fighter for the arena, no house slave would have been that muscular. Lucy closed her eyes, remembering the slave. His pink spiky hair, his tanned skin, bulky muscles, and his dark eyes that seemed nearly lifeless.

"Is something wrong, Princess?" Loke inquired, standing from the stool.

She shook her head quickly as she came out of her thoughts. "I'm just a little upset."

"I know," Loke replied, biting his lip. "You have to understand that your father is—"

"That's enough, Loke," Layla commanded as she entered the kitchen with Erza at her side. The orange haired man looked to the Queen and nodded his head, apologizing for stepping out of line. Lucy furrowed her brows in confusion. "Lucy why don't you go get ready for the Festival now? I'll finish up with Loke, okay?" her mother asked with a kind smile, hoping her daughter wouldn't question her.

Lucy looked to Loke, who nodded in agreement. "Alright, I'll see you both in the morning." She smiled and looked to Erza, who held the door open for Lucy. As the two young ladies walked out, Layla let out a breath of relief.

"Queen Heartfilia," Loke began, but the woman held up her head. "She needs to know."

"I know, Loke," Layla answered sadly. "She's only just returned though, let her have some fun first."

Loke looked down at the ground and remained silent.

"Don't say anything to her, Loke. Are we clear?" she asked him.

"Yes, your majesty," Loke replied, meeting her gaze. "I won't say a word."


	5. Festival

**Author's Note: **Unfortunately, I didn't get many comments on the last chapter. But hopefully this chapter will spark everyone's interest, I already have the next chapter written as well, but I will not be updating until I get some comments. Yes, I hate being one of those authors, but I don't want to update unless people are interested, so please review! But, of course, I can't thank you all enough for following this story, favoring it, and even me as an author as well! Thank you all, so, so much!

**Special Thanks: **OmegaSage037, dreamer, AWK and the Akatsugirls, and Celtika82! You guys are my lucky stars, thanks for the comments! I appreciate your support!

**Warnings: **AU. Sexual Content. Cursing. Violence.

* * *

**Festival**

The city of Magnolia was alight with hundreds of lanterns and candles and torches. The streets were flooded with people watching street side performances. Many vendors of food and trinkets beckoned people to check out their little shops. This was the time of year when Magnolia seemed the most alive for an entire weekend, people partied day to night. Lucy always loved the Festival of Lights, she believed it was magical.

She admired the paper lanterns as she walked through the park. Her blonde hair was down and in loose curls that fell just past her bare shoulders. The weather was pleasant, not too hot and not too cold. The skies were perfectly clear, which meant at midnight the lanterns they released by the beach would look like millions of stars. A smile came onto her face when she remembered last year's festival. It was just before she left to Crocus with Erza, all her friends gathered at the hill behind her family's estate that overlooked the ocean, and released their lanterns.

"You really shouldn't wander around by yourself, Princess." Jellal was standing on the stone bridge that crossed over the creek. He looked at Lucy and smiled at her, pushing off of the railing he walked towards her. "Where's Erza?" he asked, looking around for the beautiful redhead.

Lucy smiled at him and stifled a laugh. "She and Gray are getting some lanterns to light at midnight."

Jellal nodded his head in understanding and looked at Lucy. He didn't know her very well, but he could see she was upset. It was almost as if she was sad about something. "Is something wrong?" he questioned with a tilt of his head.

Lucy debated if she should tell him everything or simply lie about it. She knew Jellal to be a good listener and a gentleman, he'd been through a lot, so she assumed he'd understand. The blonde bit her lip and leaned back against the railing of the bridge. "My father, he forced Loke into a fight at the arena. He gotten beaten pretty badly and I'm just upset that he would do something like that. I thought he might have changed while I was gone, but he is exactly the same." Lucy ran her fingers through her hair and shook her head.

"Why would he make Loke fight someone at the arena?" Jellal asked with a raised brow.

Lucy shrugged her shoulders and ran her hands over the soft material of her white gown. "Something about Macao bringing in a new fighter. I guess my father wanted to see what he was capable of."

"But there's more to it than that," Jellal tried, and Lucy let out a sigh and nodded her head. "Which is?"

"The slave Loke fought, was the same slave who helped Erza and I on our way back to Magnolia," Lucy explained, causing Jellal to furrow his brows.

"Helped you?" Jellal questioned, and Lucy nodded her head. "If he's a fighter, Princess Lucy, he probably had no other choice. You should know better than anyone what slaves go through." He put a hand on her shoulder, and Lucy looked up at him for a moment.

"I have to go," Lucy said suddenly.

"Where are you going?" Jellal asked before she took off. Lucy stared at him and opened her mouth to speak, but suddenly at the shops down by the river side people started to fight. Cursing, Jellal ran over to break up the fight before it could get any worse.

Lucy took that moment as her chance to escape before Jellal could say anything to her or stop her. She knew he would stop her, he'd probably drag her back to the mansion for what she was going to do. Ever since she met that slave, she couldn't stop thinking about him. There was something about him that was drawing her too him, something that told her she needed to know him. Lucy looked straight ahead and could see the shadowed outline for the arena. She took in a sharp breath and continued on her way, she wanted to talk to that slave. She had to talk to him.

Jellal managed to break up the fight and sighed in relief. He hated festivals, everyone was crowding around, people got drunk, and it was just a huge mess. Once things calmed down and everyone cleared out, Jellal looked back to where he left Lucy. When he couldn't find her he started to panic.

"Hey Jellal, we were looking for you," Gray said as he and Erza came forth with some paper lanterns. "We got some lanterns for the ceremony at midnight." He held up the paper lanterns that were in all different colors.

"Did you guys see Lucy?" Jellal asked them.

"She said she was gonna wait by the bridge," Erza replied, gesturing to the bridge. When she didn't see her friend though, worry began to set in. "Where'd she go? She was there a few minutes ago. I saw her." Erza ran over to the bridge and called out for Lucy, but the princess was long gone.

"I ran into her, but when the fight broke out she disappeared," Jellal explained as they walked across the bridge. Erza called for Lucy again, but to no avail. Gray looked around, hoping to spot a blonde in a pretty white dress. "She was talking about Loke and a fight at the arena before she took off."

Erza whipped around to look at Jellal, her eyes were full of worry. "You don't think she'd go to the arena do you?"

Jellal opened his mouth, but no words came out he could only shrug his shoulders. "She mentioned that she knew the slave Loke fought."

Erza cursed under her breath and looked at the two guards before her. She told them they had to get to the arena and fast. Without another word, Erza was heading in the direction of the arena with Gray and Jellal right behind her. She hoped Lucy wouldn't do anything stupid, but sometimes Lucy just acted on impulse.

* * *

**-xOx-**

* * *

Levy sat on the floor beside Gajeel's cell with her nose in a book. She probably should have been out at the festival, but she never really did care for the big crowds. When she flipped a page, she felt Gajeel standing behind her and looked up at him. He sat down in front of the gate of the cell and stared at her curiously. She smiled at him and turned around, closing up her book and put it on the ground beside her.

"Don't you want to go to the festival?" he asked her. "Why do you wanna stick around here?"

Levy shrugged her shoulder and met his eyes. "I never really liked big crowds," she explained to him and brushed a strand of her blue hair behind her ear. "Besides, I thought you would enjoy the company." She looked down at her hands resting in her lap and bit her lip.

"You're a weird one," Gajeel snorted, and Levy chuckled lightly. The black haired fighter was about to say something else when he heard someone coming down the stairwell. His red eyes fell upon the stairs and widened when a blonde in a white dress appeared. Levy turned when she heard the person panting. "Isn't that…"

"Princess Lucy!" Levy gaped and quickly stood from the ground, dusting off her orange dress. "What are you doing here?" She grabbed her book and hugged it tightly to her chest. When they were kids, Lucy and Levy were friends and played together, but over time they drifted apart.

Lucy looked at Levy and was going to say something, but in the corner of her eye she saw him. He was standing by the gate of his cell, leaning up against it in a relaxed manner. When his dark eyes met hers though, he straightened up and looked down at the ground. His pink hair fell into his eyes, and Lucy walked over to his cell. She stood directly before him, but didn't say anything to him.

"Miss Lucy?" Levy inquired as she walked towards the panting princess. "Is everything alright?"

"Ah, Princess Lucy to what do we owe the pleasure?" Macao inquired as he walked out from the armory. The blonde gasped and looked to Macao, who gave her a confused look. "Is everything okay?" he asked, becoming a little worried by her flustered behavior. She put a hand to her head and apologized for just barging in on them. Her brown eyes lifted to meet the pink haired slave, who seemed puzzled by her as well.

"I don't know why I came," Lucy explained with a shake of her head. She turned away from the slave and looked at Levy. "Or maybe I do," she bit her lip and closed her eyes tightly, spinning around on her heels. "I want to know your name." She stared at the pink haired slave, who seemed surprised by her strange request.

"I told you before you don't—"

"No! Tell me your name, please," Lucy commanded, and took a step closer to the gate. She had no idea why, but she had this strong feeling in her gut saying she knew him. How she knew him was still unclear, but she knew him. It was before he put the horse down, she knew him another way. "I…I feel like…I know you." She stared at him as he blinked in confusion.

He chuckled lightly and shook his head. "I assure you, Princess, we don't know each other. I would remember your face." He gave her this goofy smile, and Lucy smiled back at him weakly. It couldn't have all been a coincidence, somehow Lucy knew that slave.

"You're lying," Lucy said, and the slave's smile faded away. He tilted his head and leaned against the metal bars. "There's something about you. I can't seem to get you out of my head." She shrugged her shoulders and bit her lip, swiveling where she stood.

"And you think knowing my name will help you remember?" he asked her.

Lucy nodded once and noticed that his eyes weren't as lifeless as last time.

"Okay," he said. "My name is—"

"Lucy!" Erza shouted as she came running down the stairs. Lucy turned around and gasped when the redhead grabbed hold of her arms. "What are you thinking? We have to go. You shouldn't be here."

"I'm perfectly alright," Lucy assured her friend with a weak smile. "Macao and Levy are here." The blonde gestured to the two, who worked at the arena on a daily basis. There was no one better to be with at the arena than those two. They dealt with the fighters all the time and knew their personalities well.

"Still, we should go, right now," Erza said, tugging on Lucy's arm. Just then Jellal and Gray came down the stairs.

"I just wanted to talk to him." Lucy turned and pointed at the pink haired slave, who waved at the group of people. He could see that two of them must have been a part of the city guard given their attire of leather armor and boots with swords at their hips.

"Why?" Erza asked curiously.

"So this is the slave you were talking about this morning," Gray said, walking closer to the cell. Natsu raised a brow, wondering how he had managed to make such an impression on the Princess in a short few minutes. Of course, he knew the real reason, but he wouldn't dare act on it. They were from different worlds now, Lucy was royalty and his was rags. Back then though, Lucy was still royalty and he still rags.

"Let's go, Macao, I'm sorry for all the commotion," Jellal intervened, decided to just get out before something worse happened. As it was all the slaves were awake and watching the scene before them. He put his arms around the two young woman and ushered them towards the stairs. "Gray, let's go!" he shouted.

"See you later, Macao," Gray said with a wave before he ran up the stairs to catch up with his friends.

Levy looked to Macao with confusion, but he didn't seem to know what was happening either. He rubbed the back of his neck and walked over to the pink haired slave's cell. "Have you met her majesty before?" Macao asked him.

"This morning, the horse pulling their carriage was fatality injured and I put him down," Natsu explained. "That was the only time though." That was a lie though, he knew Lucy once before when they were just children.

Macao seemed to believe him and looked to Levy. "Let's go, Levy. Lock up the chambers, we should be enjoying the festival." With those words, Macao started up the stairs and Levy stayed in the middle of the common room.

"Are you alright?" Levy asked.

"Don't worry about me," Natsu replied with a weak smile. "You should go." Levy nodded to him and waved before following after Macao.


	6. Lucy

**Author's Note: **Oh my goodness gracious! I literally did a victory cheer when I get home from work and saw all of y'alls comments! So overjoyed right now, thank you all so very much! And thanks to everyone who has favored and followed this story thus far, it means a lot. Also I wanted to let you all know I have been asked by a friend to do an ABC drabble challenge for Natsu and Lucy, so if you're a fan of those two check out **Be Your Everything**. Back to this story, I hope you all enjoy this chapter, soon some questions will be answered and we'll get some Natsu and Lucy moments! Leave your thoughts in a review, next chapter will be up soon!

**Special Thanks: **Doraguniru, fairystars, dreamer, Xayase, lalapie203, clea everlasting, Dragoslayer, aztec360, OmegaSage037, XxDrAGonSLaYerXXx, and tmichele! You guys are the best, seriously thanks for the comments!

**Warnings: **AU. Sexual Content. Cursing. Violence.

* * *

**Lucy**

"How was the festival last night?" Loke asked as he took a seat on the wooden swing beside Lucy. She lifted her gaze and smiled at him, but shrugged her shoulders. He could tell she was distracted and bothered. For twelve years, Loke had been by Lucy's side and watched her grow up. He felt proud of her, she had a sharp tongue and a feisty attitude. While some princesses and queens walked two steps behind their king or prince, Lucy and her mother walked beside them.

"What did Erza tell you?" Lucy asked with a raised brow. She knew that Loke wouldn't have asked unless Erza said something to him. After they had left the arena, Erza had lectured Lucy for being impulsive and reckless. Lucy didn't believe she was reckless at all, maybe a little impulsive, but the more she thought about that pink haired slave the more she felt like she knew him. It wasn't because she was attracted to him, she genuinely felt like they had met before.

"She said you went to the arena," Loke answered, and Lucy looked to him.

She nodded her head slowly. "I did."

"Why?" he inquired, actually curious to know why she went to the arena. Lucy hated the arena, she always had. "Going to yell at the slave who gave me this." He pointed to his black eye and swollen lip.

"Not exactly," Lucy replied with a light chuckle.

Loke looked appalled, but waved the matter off. "Then why did you go? After I mentioned the slave I fought, you seemed…bothered."

She was bothered by it. The fact her father put Loke back in the arena made her blood boil, but the fact that he fought a slave she felt like she knew made it worse. When they met on the road the other morning, Lucy didn't think much of him. She thought he was different than most slaves, but that's all. As the time pass throughout the day though he plagued her mind, and she couldn't figure out why.

"Can I ask you something?" Lucy asked.

"Anything," Loke smiled and nodded to her.

"That slave," she paused, trying to figure out how to word her question. "Is there a way I could find out more about him…without asking him directly?"

Loke blinked a few times and stifled a laugh. "What is it about this man that has you so flustered?" he asked and smirked upon seeing the faint blush on her cheeks. There was no denying that the slave was a peculiar one, Loke sensed that from him during their fight. He wasn't simply strong, he had a stronger power within him. It reminded him a lot of Gajeel's own power.

"I know him, Loke. I know I do," Lucy stated firmly. She stood up from the wooden bench swing and started pacing in front of him. He was surprised at Lucy's behavior, she didn't normally let things…or people…get under her skin like this slave. Loke was beginning to think that Lucy was interested in him. The thought of that made him chuckle, the lowly slave and beautiful princess, it was a tale as old as time.

"You're sure?" Loke asked, crossing one leg over the other and leaned back in the bench. Lucy stopped in front of him and nodded her head. There was a sureness in her eyes, one that made Loke really believe her. "You've been around slaves your entire life, maybe he just looks like someone you thought you knew." The orange haired slave shrugged his shoulders.

Lucy guessed that could be possible, but it didn't feel like that. It felt like they might have been friends. To say the least, Lucy was very confused with her feelings. It was conflicting and exhausting, she spent half the night tossing and turning. He just kept popping up in her mind. It wasn't like she ran into someone with pink hair all the time. Lucy sighed dejectedly and plopped back down on the bench beside Loke. She rested her elbows on her knees and put her chin in her palms.

Loke chuckled, and Lucy glared at him. "I'm glad my frustration is amusing to you."

He smiled at Lucy and put his arm around her small shoulders. "I'm not laughing at you," he assured her, and Lucy gave him a disbelieving frown. "Let's say that you did in fact know him, what would you do about it?"

Lucy opened her mouth to speak, but then quickly shut it. He had her there, what would she do? It wasn't like she could save him, or perhaps she could. Lucy shook her head, if he was a strong fighter her father wouldn't free him. He was a selfish man and only cared about being the most powerful king in Fiore. It wasn't like she didn't understand his reasons, but he already had twenty strong fighters. Did he really need another? Loke had been lucky that her father liked him enough to make him a personal body guard. All those years ago, Loke was in the top three of the arena in Magnolia. Lucy couldn't believe her father brought Loke home to be basically a house slave.

"He's different from other slaves," Loke said.

"Different? How do you mean?" she asked curiously.

Loke licked his lips and shrugged. "I think…" he trailed off and stared down at the ground in deep concentration. His brows knitted together, and Lucy tilted her head. "It's just a hunch, but I believe he is like Gajeel."

"Gajeel?" Lucy repeated slightly surprised by Loke's thought. "You mean…"

"Yeah," Loke nodded his head. "A Dragon Slayer."

Lucy's brown eyes widened. If that slave was, in fact, a Dragon Slayer there was no way her father would ever let him go. They were powerful fighters that held a special magic unlike any other. It was already known that the King of Crocus held two Dragon Slayers, if her father had two now the Colosseum Battles next summer would be huge. People would come from all around Fiore to witness the Dragon Slayer fight to the death. Lucy shivered at the thought of any of the Dragon Slayers having to die for the sake of the Kings.

"If he is a Dragon Slayer, he'll never be able to leave the arena," Lucy muttered glumly.

Loke stared at Lucy for a moment. "Lucy, when you are a slave, you can never leave that. No slave gets to be free, you either work as a house slave the rest of your life or you die in the arena."

"It's just not fair," Lucy explained, and Loke nodded in agreement. He knew it wasn't fair he'd been a slave since he was twelve years old. At first he worked for a farmer plowing fields, but his owner fell ill and passed away when he was fifteen. That was when he was taken into the arena and for four long years all he knew was bloodshed and death. By some stroke of luck, King Heartfilia asked him to serve his family personally and since then that's all he has done.

"There you are, Loke," Layla said as she came walking forth with her hands clasped in front of her. "I need to go to the market, please accompany me."

Loke stood and nodded his head. "Yes, your majesty." He looked back at Lucy and patted her shoulder in a comforting manner. "I'll see you later, my lady."

The young princess smiled kindly at Loke and nodded to him. He smiled and walked behind the queen as they departed the garden. When the two were gone, Lucy's eyes ventured towards the skyline of Magnolia. It was a beautiful sight, one she always loved looking at. Her eyes landed on the arena. It was late morning, which meant Macao probably had all the fighter training for tonight's battle. Lucy shook her head, she didn't want to go to the battle, but she would have too.

* * *

**-xOx-**

* * *

Erza filled her wicker basket with fresh fruits and vegetables as she walked through the market. It was just beginning to get overcrowded for people who were preparing for the evening's festivities. She smiled when she saw some strawberries and placed them into her basket. When she got back to the Heartfilia estate she would make some strawberry shortcakes. It would be sure to cheer Lucy up, all morning she had seemed so distracted and the night before…Erza couldn't believe she went to the arena. That pink haired slave had really made an impression on the princess.

Erza sighed softly and shook her head. She paid the vendor and started heading back to the mansion. As she weaved through the crowd and got onto the main road that went to the mansion, she spotted Jellal with his golden stallion. A small blush came onto her cheeks when he spotted her and smiled softly, waving to her. Erza brushed a strand of her red hair behind her ear and walked over to him.

"Good morning," Erza said with a small bow.

Jellal returned her bow and tied his horse to a bench they were standing next to. "How is Lucy this morning?"

Erza shrugged her shoulders. "She seems distracted."

Jellal nodded in understanding, Lucy was acting a bit strangely ever since the mention of that slave. He wondered what it was about that slave, when they saw him last night, he didn't seem much different from any other fighter in the arena. "And how are you, Erza?" he asked with a sweet smile.

She bit her lip and looked down at the ground, feeling very bashful. Not like anyone could blame her; Jellal was the City Guard's Captain, he was intelligent, a wizard, and obviously incredibly handsome. Ever since she was a child, Erza had a little crush on him, or maybe a rather large crush that Lucy constantly teased her about. She didn't get all babbly and stuff, she just got self-conscious.

"I'm good, thanks for asking," Erza managed to get out as if it was some sort of business transaction. "Can I ask a favor of you?" the redhead inquired, becoming a little more serious.

Jellal nodded his head.

"Do you think you can find out more about that slave?" she questioned, which caused Jellal to blink in surprise.

"I can look into it, but why are you interested in him?"

Erza sighed. The truth of the matter was, Lucy would probably go looking for the information herself. If she did that she would probably get into trouble or hurt, Erza couldn't let that happen. She figured if she could get Jellal or Gray to look into it, she could content Lucy with the information they found.

"It's just that, I know Lucy," Erza explained to him with a small smile. "She's reckless sometimes and impulsive. She'll go looking for information, and I just don't want her to get hurt." The redhead shrugged her shoulders and bit her lip. It was an odd request for a house slave to ask the guard to find information about another slave, but Lucy was her friend. She wanted to protect her from her own stupidity.

"Can't argue with that," Jellal chuckled, knowing full well the danger Lucy got herself into. Sometimes she just dived headfirst into crazy situations. "I'll see what I can find, Erza." He put a hand on her shoulder, and her heart skipped a beat at the touch.

"T-thank you," Erza stuttered out. "In the meantime, I'll try to keep Lucy out of trouble."

"The Princess is lucky to have you as a friend," Jellal commented, and Erza blushed. He untied his horse and climbed into the saddle. He looked down at Erza and nodded before urging his horse to trot off back into the city.

The redhead waved as he rode off and sighed longingly. When she turned around to face the mansion, her smile faded away when she saw Gray smirking at her. His arms were crossed across his chest, and she could just hear that cocky smirk of his. Gray had found out that Erza liked Jellal a few years ago, and he had joined in with Lucy to tease her about it.

"You should have asked him for some coffee or something," Gray said.

"I don't have time for that and neither does he," Erza pointed out. "If you'll excuse me." She bowed and walked past him, but heard him cackling like some crazed hyena.

"He likes you too," Gray called out and turned around, seeing Erza freeze in place. "All teasing aside, he really does. Honest."

Erza smiled, but didn't turn around she only kept walking.

* * *

**-xOx-**

* * *

Natsu stood in the arena and saw that everyone was battling. Some were using wooden swords and shields and others were just using hand-to-hand combat. His black eyes drifted over to Macao, who was up on the first level balcony where any royal or noble families would watch. It wasn't really Macao that Natsu was watching though, it was the big brute next to him. The previous night, Levy had been sitting by his cell. Natsu assumed she liked him, but he couldn't understand how a small girl like Levy could like a scary looking fighter like him. If he remembered correctly, his name was Gajeel.

He wondered why he was up there rather than down in the arena with everyone else. Natsu assumed he must have been special, he probably wasn't like the rest of the slaves. He'd be lying if he said he didn't notice the strange feeling coming from Gajeel. It was a power, one that felt very similar to his own. The last time Natsu felt that tingling in his veins was when he lived with his tribe. It was the feeling of a Dragon Slayer, but Natsu couldn't believe he'd really found another like him.

Gajeel looked to Natsu, who sighed and turned away. He'd only been in Magnolia for a day, he didn't want to cause any trouble. First he would learn about the other fighters and then he would worry about Gajeel. When he turned around, he stopped upon seeing Levy with Droy and Jet behind her. She smiled kindly at him and approached carefully. Natsu watched her with curiosity as she lifted up his hands.

"Unlock," Levy said, waving her hands over the black metal braces. They fell from his wrist, and Natsu raised a brow in confusion. "Tonight you will fight single combat with Gajeel. To prepare you, Macao wants you two too fight now." She knelt down to pick up the braces and handed them over to Jet.

"Then why is he removing the shackles?" Natsu inquired, surprised they'd risk letting him fight without magic suppressors. Complete chaos could happen if slaves were managed properly in an arena. "You do know I have magic abilities, right?" he asked with a small laugh, and Levy smiled nodding her head in agreement.

"Our arena is specially made to control magical abilities," Levy explained to Natsu, who seemed rather impressed by that information. "You won't be able to get too chaotic. I'd advise you to be careful around Gajeel, he's incredibly powerful."

Natsu smiled at Levy and nodded his head. "Thank you, Levy." She bowed slightly and left with Droy and Jet in tow. When Natsu turned around, he saw all the slaves clearing the arena and going back into the holding cells. He saw Gajeel jump down from the balcony where Macao was watching. The pierced slave with the red demonic eyes, walked out into the middle of the arena with his black shackles off as well. Natsu let out a breath and knew that they would learn that he was a Dragon Slayer.

"You know something, pipsqueak," Gajeel began with a smirk, "I've fought against four others who were called Salamander."

Natsu stared at Gajeel and stifled a laugh. "Oh yeah?"

Gajeel nodded his head, and pointed at Natsu. "You're very unlucky, Salamander. Very unlucky."

Natsu tilted his head slightly. "You think you will beat me? I don't know about those others people who claimed to be Salamander. I can assure you though, I am **_the _**Salamander." He held his fist up and ribbons of flames spiraled around it.

"Well now," Gajeel grinned, excitement flaring up in his eyes. "Maybe I finally have a worthy opponent."

Natsu snickered. "I know what you are," he told Gajeel, who held his arm out. In the blink of an eye Gajeel's arm had turned into a dark steel sword. "You're a Dragon Slayer."


	7. Dragons

**Author's Note: **Hey guys! Thank you to everyone who favored and followed this story! I'm glad to know you all like this story enough to keep it in mind. I would like to apologize in advance for any mistakes in this next chapter. Also it contains another fight scene, and I did my best to make it better than last time! I'd really love to know what you think, I'm setting a goal here. Currently this story is at 39 comments, my goal is to be at 50 before the next update! Please help me get there

**Special Thanks: **SkyFairies, lalapie203, Stinger10, AWK and The Akatsugirls, Xayase, and dreamer!

**Warnings: **AU. Sexual Content. Cursing. Violence.

* * *

**Dragons**

Erza walked into the mansion and went straight for the kitchen. Lunch would be taking place in about an hour, which would be the perfect amount of time for her to get the cakes ready. She beamed at the thought of eating those fresh strawberries with creamy filling and soft sponge bread. The thought of it alone was making her mouth water, and she knew Lucy would enjoy it as well. As Erza entered the kitchen she could see the cook was already preparing for lunch. She greeted him as she put her basket up on the counter.

"Are you going to be making those delicious cakes of yours?" the cook asked as he chopped away at some carrots for the vegetable soup he was making. Erza nodded, saying she wanted to make some for Lucy. "But Princess Lucy left half an hour ago."

Erza turned to look at the cook. "Did she go with anyone?"

The cook tapped his chin and shook his head. He explained that Lucy had come in to tell him she wouldn't be in for lunch. When he asked where she was going she said for a ride, but she seemed to be lying about it. Erza didn't like that at all, if Lucy was lying that could only mean one thing, she was doing something reckless and/or stupid. Shaking her head, Erza huffed and excused herself from the kitchen. She was going to check Lucy's room and from there she would check the stables.

"Please tell me she didn't go to the arena again," Erza muttered as she climbed up the stairs to the second floor. She rushed down the long corridor and greeted the maids as she passed. She stopped and asked if they had seen Lucy around, but they all said not since breakfast. That wasn't the answer she wanted. When Erza was in front of Lucy's bedroom door, she called out to her and knocked a few times.

Nothing at all.

Erza knocked again and called out to Lucy a little louder.

She was greeted with only silence. "Lucy, I'm coming in." Erza twisted the handle and stepped into the bedroom. Her eyes darted around the room, but Lucy was nowhere to be seen. The nerves started setting in. She walked over to the closet and pushed the door open, but no one was inside. Erza cursed and clenched her fist at her sides. "Where did you go?"

A breeze flowed into the room, and Erza turned around to see the balcony doors were open. She walked across Lucy's large room that was embellished with gold and silver decorations, a comfortable seating area in front of a stone fireplace, a rather large book case that was overflowing with books, and a round bed adorned with the finest silk sheets and pillows. Erza got to the glass doors and pushed through the white lace curtains.

She looked over to the seating area, but it was empty. The redhead sighed in defeat, Lucy probably did leave. Walking over to the stone railing of the balcony, Erza looked out to the city of Magnolia. It was a beautiful skyline, she always loved to sit out and talk to Lucy. She pushed away from the railing and decided that it was time to go and search for Lucy. The longer she waited the farther away Lucy got. Her first point of interest would be the arena and if she wasn't there—hopefully she wasn't—she would be at Bookland. Erza knew better though, Lucy was going to be at the arena.

* * *

**-xOx-**

* * *

Natsu looked at Gajeel, admiring his magic at work. It was a unique style, he wouldn't deny that. He was getting excited, it had been a long time since he'd face someone who made him feel this way. He felt the fire in his belly, it was raring to go. Most battles, Natsu felt like they were chores, but this one seemed like it would mean something. Aside from the fact that it would be definite that he was a Dragon Slayer as well. Many people didn't believe him when he claimed that he was, until they put him in the area. They assumed he was just some run of the mill fire wizard, and boy did he love proving them wrong.

Licking his lips, Natsu popped the knuckles of his fingers and stared at Gajeel. He was ready to blow off some steam. The dark haired Dragon Slayer, admired his arm that had turned into a black sword with jagged edges. Natsu knew it would be as sharp as a dragon's fangs and would surely rip him to pieces. He took in a deep breath and summoned ribbons of fire around his fists.

The two locked eyes and Gajeel smirked. In one swift movement, he charged at Natsu and swung his blade. The pink haired slave evaded effortlessly and went low, to use and uppercut on Gajeel. Natsu could feel his muscles tightening and then relaxing with each movement he made. The fire continued to swirl around his fist as he swung, left and right pushing Gajeel further and further back.

Having had enough of their dance, Gajeel jumped over Natsu. He spun around quickly and tried jabbing him with his bladed arm. The pink haired slave unfortunately didn't manage to doge the hit completely and felt the blade rip his shirt and gaze his skin. Natsu grabbed a hold of Gajeel's blade and yanked him forward with incredible force. The Dragon Slayer grunted and tried to fight Natsu, but it was futile. Natsu summoned fire to his feet and kicked Gajeel in the gut, sending him toppling over on the ground.

Gajeel coughed a few times and changed his bladed arm back to normal. He wrapped his arm around his torso and chuckled lightly. "You're stronger than you look, pipsqueak." Gajeel got back onto his feet and dusted himself off. He growled deeply and charged at Natsu.

The pink haired fighter tucked and rolled out of the way and unleashed a fireball at Gajeel. Snorting, Gajeel covered his body in thick steel scales and smacked the fire ball down to the ground like it was nothing. Natsu narrowed his eyes and stood up from where he was kneeling. Gajeel was sheer brute force, but he was also rather fast. Natsu knew he was faster though, he knew he could beat him with speed attacks. He decided to take the chance to attack him directly in and up close and personal manner.

Gajeel's body remained covered in the scales that saved him in every battle. They were almost impossible to penetrate, many had tried and failed. He was confident that the pipsqueak wouldn't be able to do any damage. When they locked eyes, Natsu vanished into thin air, and Gajeel cursed out loud.

"Hey!" Natsu shouted and just as Gajeel turned around, he was met with a fiery fist to the face. He stumbled back, but his scales had taken most of the damage. The pink haired slave jumped back out of Gajeel's reach and gritted his teeth. When he punched Gajeel sparks and flown from the impact of the hit. "Quite the defense you got there, but I'll still take you down."

"Fast, cocky, and small," Gajeel laughed. "Bring it on pipsqueak."

Just as Gajeel had challenged Natsu brought it on, full force. Levy had been right, the arena was keeping their powers at a minimum level, and he couldn't summon very high level attacks. Aside from a few fire balls, Natsu felt rather weak and useless. Nevertheless, Natsu would bring everything he had, or everything he could bring given the circumstances.

He threw a punch and Gajeel ducked down, slamming his fist into Natsu's gut. The pink haired slave slid back and groaned in pain. Not only did those scales protect Gajeel from physical and magical attacks, they increased his attacks. A streak of sweat rolled down Natsu's face and he stood up, punching his twist fist together they became engulfed in flames.

Gajeel stood at the ready as Natsu charged him. He caught the fire user's fist, but was shocked when he was pushed back several feet, colliding into the wall of the arena. The Dragon Slayer cursed as he kept Natsu at bay. Unfortunately it was not enough, Natsu jumped back quickly and unleashed a barrage of fireballs. Gajeel cried out as the fireballs rained down on him in a hellish fury. His metal scales were becoming charred, but he was not about to lose.

Natsu stood up from his kneeling position and summoned his fire into his mouth. He would finished him off with his signature move. "Fire Dragon's Roar!" he shouted loudly unleashing a scorching flamethrower.

Gajeel attached quickly and matched Natsu's own attack with one of his own. "Iron Dragon's Roar!"

When the two attacks collided the sparks flew. Burning shards of metal flung about in every direction, tearing up the ground and stabbing into the walls of the arena. Smoke lifted into the air, making it hard to see anything clearly. The flames became a cyclone from the wind created from the metal infested tornado that Gajeel had summoned. Natsu felt several shards of burning metal cut into his skin. He felt his blood rolling down his skin in a slow sticky manner. If it weren't for Gajeel's iron scales, he'd probably be in the same predicament.

When the smoke and ash dissipated, Gajeel was back against the arena wall panting heavily with his scales gone and burn marks on his skin. He couldn't keep his scales on through the entire event due to the arena sapping their magical powers. His red eyes found Natsu standing before him in tore clothes dampened with his blood. Licking his lips, Gajeel pushed off of the wall and lifted his arm.

"You're gonna have to do better than that," Gajeel taunted as he approached Natsu.

When he was within range, Natsu moved swiftly. There was no way that Gajeel would be able to dodge or defend from the strike. Holding one arm out, Natsu held his palm straight in front of Gajeel and used his other arm as a support. "Fire Dragon's Grip Strike!" Gajeel's eyes shot wide open when a vast amount of explosive flames engulfed him at point blank range.

The flames burned Gajeel's skin and he could feel his energy being sapped away from him. He cried out in pain and fell onto one knee, using his blade as his support. The Iron Dragon Slayer was panting heavy and slowly lifted his head to look at Natsu, who was panting just as heavily.

"Was that good enough?" Natsu asked through gritted teeth.

"Better, but not good enough," Gajeel chuckled darkly, causing Natsu to glare. "Iron Dragon's Kunai!"

Natsu braced himself, covered his face with his arms as kunai like darts flew at him at a rapid pace. He was thrown back from the strike, as the knives pierced into his skin. His blood soaked into his clothes and started to drip onto the ground. When he moved his arms, Natsu gasped and rolled out of the way before Gajeel's blade could slice him in half. The pink haired fighter jumped onto his feet and plucked the kunai from his skin. He grunted and shook his head, the ringing of the metal filled the entire arena.

"You just won't go down will you?" Natsu asked, as blood dripped from his finger tips and splatted onto the ground.

Gajeel smirked. "I'm the champion of this arena, I won't go down." He held his blade up and pointed it at Natsu, who snickered.

Macao was amazed by the two. He had their magic suppressed to only minimal effects, but the managed to create quite the spectacle. Part of him wanted to call the fight where it was before they damaged each other any further…let alone the arena. He needed both of them for the fight that evening, but part of him wanted to see how much further they would go. Both of them had a passion for fighting, he didn't imagine either of them would want anything else. He bit his thumb nail, debating on what he should do. It would probably take half the day to clean up the arena, and about several hours for the two to recuperate for battle at sundown.

When he looked back at the two, they were tangled in a fist fight. They moved so quickly, throwing kicks and punches like it was nothing at all. He could hear the sickening slaps, snaps, and cracks of skin and bone. Blood splattered on the ground like a red rain, and the two growled and grunted loudly. It was as if two dragons were truly fighting down there with no regards for anything else other than each other. Macao gripped the stone railing of the viewing platform and let his jaw fall open.

"You need to stop them," Levy interjected suddenly, snapping Macao out of his thoughts. "They'll beat each other senseless if they go for much longer."

She wasn't kidding, those two looked like they weren't going to stop until trumpets sounded. Neither one was going to admit defeat, nor did he want them too. He knew Gajeel could probably go another half hour like this, but he wondered about his newcomer.

Gajeel's muscles contracted as he pulled his fist back, engulfing it in dark iron. He let it fly and slammed it right into Natsu's jaw sending him flying. When he landed on the ground with a heavy thud, he rolled several times and coughed up some blood. He hated that his powers were suppressed, if they weren't he would be a true challenge for Gajeel.

"Macao!" Levy squeaked, and he turned to Levy. "It's Princess Lucy!" The blue haired girl pointed to the blonde princess, standing on the other side of the arena.

Macao looked at the blonde as she jumped down into the battle ground. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, no he didn't want to believe it. She ran across the arena in her light blue dress, her blonde hair waving in the wind.

"What the hell is she doing?" Macao gaped. "Stop the match!" Macao shouted to the one controlling the magic suppressors.

Unfortunately, the controllers were not fast enough, Gajeel was already going in for his final attack. Lucy was running straight towards Natsu, and Macao could feel his heart banging against his chest.

"Stop the match I said!" Macao shouted, but Gajeel's Iron Dragon's Club was already in mid attack, they couldn't stop him now. "Lucy don't!" Macao screamed at loudly as he could.

"Gajeel stop!" Levy begged, hoping it would be enough. "Don't do it!"

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Natsu heard Macao and Levy shouting, but he wasn't sure why. He was down on one knee and felt completely exhausted. At first he thought they were calling the match, which made him a little angry. He really wanted to keep going, Gajeel was one heck of a fighter. When he looked up though, his eyes widened as he saw Lucy came in front of him as a shield from Gajeel's black iron club.

Natsu didn't think twice, he jumped onto his feet, grabbed a hold of Lucy and spun around. Gajeel's club sliced across Natsu's shoulder and blood sprayed onto Lucy's face. She trembled in fear as she saw Natsu's face twisted in pain and anguish. He collapsed from the stinging pain on his right shoulder, but Lucy slowed his fall onto the ground. Natsu's warm blood spilled onto Lucy's dress, soaking through to her skin. She shivered and gently touched Natsu's face, leaving streaks from her fingers.

Gajeel retracted his club and fell down onto his knees. He couldn't believe what had just happened. His eyes landed on Lucy, who was crying softly asking for the slave to wake up. The Princess had come from out of nowhere, he was barely able to knock his attack off of its target. Had he not done that, he probably would have killed both of them.

"Gajeel," Levy breathed as she came to his side.

The Dragon Slayer looked at her and slammed his fist into the ground. "I tried Levy, I tried."

She knelt down and wrapped her arms around him, hoping it would comfort him. When Lucy appeared it scared everyone. "I know you did, it wasn't your fault." It wasn't truly anyone's fault, it's not like they accepted anyone to just run into the middle of the arena during a heated battle.

Macao slid down onto his knees and grabbed Lucy's by her shoulders, forgetting about Natsu for a moment. His number one priority was making sure the Princess was okay, because if she wasn't they would all be dead.

"Are you alright, Princess Lucy?" Macao asked, shaking her gently. "What the hell were you thinking? Are you crazy?" He let her go and looked down at Natsu, who was out cold. Macao licked his lips and put his hands on Lucy's face. She was okay, but he could tell she was definitely shaken up.

"I'm…sorry," Lucy sobbed.

Macao didn't say anything to her. He had to get Natsu stitched up before he bled to death. "Jet! Droy! Get him inside. Levy!"

"I'm coming!" the blue haired girl called out, running over to Macao. "Lucy are you okay?" she asked.

"Get Salamander stitched up," Macao ordered, and Levy nodded in understand as Droy and Jet put him on a stretcher. The two carefully carried him down to the slave quarters with Levy following behind them. "Can you stand?" Macao asked as he got onto his feet and held his hand out to Lucy.

"Macao!" Jellal shouted.

"Shit," Macao cursed when he turned around seeing the guard captain up on the viewing platforms. The blue haired Guard Captain jumped down into the arena and came running over to Lucy.

"What the hell is going on here?" Jellal knelt down beside Lucy and lifted her face. She pulled away from him, tears slowly rolling down her cheeks. He sighed realized she was okay, but he still question the pool of blood around her and on her.

"I can explain," Macao began.

"You better, the King is going to be furious!" Jellal exclaimed hotly, throwing his gauntlet covered hands into the air.

Lucy stood up. "It was my fault!" she snapped and both men turned to look at her in surprise. "I ran into the middle of the fight." More tears slipped from her eyes, and Jellal stared at her completely bewildered.

"Why would you do that?" Jellal asked her softly.

Lucy wiped her tears away, smearing the blood across her face in the process. "I didn't want them to fight anymore."

Macao and Jellal exchanged looks before turning back to Lucy, who hugged herself tightly and sobbed even more.


	8. Natsu

**Author's Note: **Hello my lovely readers! I am so glad that you all enjoyed the fight scene in the last chapter! Hopefully my future ones will be just as good or better. Also many thanks to everyone who helped me reach 50 comments! This is so exciting to me! So here's the next goal: we're currently at 53 comments let's try to make it to 65! Thank you all so much for reading and sticking with me, I hope you enjoy this chapter and hopefully some questions are answered!

**Special Thanks: **lalapie203, OmegaSage037, Xayase, dreamer, XxDrAGonSLaYerXXx, Mr. CR, Doraguniru, and Celtika82! You guys are awesome!

**Warnings: **AU. Sexual Content. Cursing. Violence.

* * *

**Natsu**

It was quiet.

His eyes slowly came open, and he winced when he tried to sit up. A sharp pain shot through his entire body so he just stayed down. He looked down at his body and could see her was bandaged up. Everything was such a blur to him, he remembered the fight with Gajeel, but nothing else. Or perhaps he did, he remembered a woman with blonde hair. She had ran into the arena during his fight. His eyes shot wide open, and he bolted up from the cot.

Natsu cried out in pain as searing pain shot from his shoulder and throught his body. It felt like someone was running glass shards along his skin. Tears formed in his eyes, and he moaned as he leaned against the cold stonewall of his cell. It was all coming back to him now in bits and pieces. The Princess of Magnolia had tried to protect him from Gajeel's attack. There were hundreds of questions floating in his head, but due to the pain he was in he was silenced. Squeezing his eyes shut tightly, Natsu let out a breath and tried to lay back down. He groaned in pain as he laid back down, staring out the small rectangular window that let in some sunlight.

"You're awake," a soft feminine voice came from the entrance of his cell. If he knew a searing pain wouldn't through his entire body, he'd turn to look. The sound of creaking metal rang in the room, and Natsu winced at the sharp sound. "How do you feel?" the young woman asked, and Natsu turned his head slightly to see her.

Before him in a simple purple dress was Lucy Heartfilia, the Princess of Magnolia. Her hair was pinned up in an elegant bun with a few spiraling strands framing her face. She smiled warmly at Natsu, and he looked away from her. He didn't understand why she cared so much about him, a lowly slave. Or perhaps he did, somehow she still remembered him. It shouldn't have been possible, he shouldn't have remembered her. That was why he was afraid to tell her his name, if she heard it maybe everything that was meant to be erased would come back to her. She would be overwhelmed, he just knew it. When he saw her that day outside of the carriage, he knew it was her. He felt it in his gut that she was the girl he knew long ago, and boy did she grow up to be beautiful.

Lucy came closer to him, nearly hovering over him. He didn't look her in the eye at first, but he couldn't simply ignore her forever. She was the epitome of beauty, never in his twenty-three years of life had he seen such a beautiful young woman. When she was a child she was knobby knees and straw like blonde hair. She played in the dirt and mud, nothing like a princess.

"Are you hungry? Thirsty?" Lucy inquired gently.

Natsu closed his eyes for a moment and let out a breath. "Water," he answered hoarsely. Lucy smiled and nodded, quietly leaving his cell to get him some water.

"You're a real piece of work, Salamander," Gajeel's voice sounded. Natsu only snickered, but tried his best to remain still to avoid the unwanted sting of the pain. His injuries were far greater than he imagined. He felt as though a boulder had rolled right over him…twice! "You've been out for two days."

Natsu blinked a few times. "So how'd you do?" he questioned.

"What do you mean?" Gajeel asked, followed by the sound of a squeaking cot. Natsu assumed he was getting up. "You mean for the festival battle?"

"Yeah," Natsu answered, nodding even though Gajeel probably couldn't see him.

The dark haired Dragon Slayer sighed heavily. "Unfortunately I just woke up yesterday," he explained and snickered. "You barbequed me pretty damn well."

Natsu laughed a bit, but stopped when he felt the tinge in his ribs. "Well," he began with a smirk. "You know what they say. You play with fire, you're gonna get burned."

Gajeel didn't reply, he simply chuckled and sat back down on his cot. His entire body was wrapped up in bandages. He suffered many burns and most of his skin was now welting and gooey like. It was horrible, because he couldn't even get comfortable to sleep. Levy had done her best to make him comfortable, but in the end she said it would take time for his skin to heal. Needless to say, Gajeel was annoyed that some newcomer had managed to do this to him.

A few moments later, Lucy had walked back into the room with a cup filled with cool water. She glanced over at Gajeel, who turned away. Even though it wasn't truly his fault that he almost killed the Princess, he couldn't look at her. When he did the images of her running in front of his attack flash in his mind. Lucy smiled weakly and turned away as well, feeling the same guilt that he did. She knew that had she been struck, her father would have had him killed. It made her sick to think he father would do that to his most prized fighter, but he would without even hesitating. Especially if he still had the pink haired slave around. After the battle between the two, everyone in Magnolia talked about the newest fighter: a Dragon Slayer of Fire.

Lucy entered Natsu's cell and came over to his cot. She seemed hesitant at first, but he told her to sit down. Nodding her head, Lucy sat on the edge of the cot and held the cup of water out to him. He looked at it for a moment and carefully tried to sit up, but the pain was much too great. It was like a million jolts of electricity were shooting throughout his nerves. Lucy gently pushed him back down and scooted up closer to him. She carefully lifted his hand with her hand just a little and placed the cup to his chapped lips.

He took a few sips and nodded to her. She smiled and pulled the cup away, placing it down on the floor by her feet. "I'm so sorry," Lucy told him, and he gave her a confused stare. "This is all my fault." Her brown eyes began to tear up, and Natsu stared at her. When her first tear fell, Natsu slowly raised his hand to her face.

"Why did you do it?" He wiped away her tear and gently brushed the back of his hands against her cheek. Lucy stared at him in surprise, he normally pushed her away or tried to change the subject.

She swallowed hard. "I didn't want you two to fight anymore. I thought he was going to kill you."

Natsu lowered his hand from her face. "I'm just a slave. I'm replaceable."

"Don't say that!" Lucy snapped at him, and he stared in bewilderment. Most nobles or royals didn't care about their slaves, they were merely pieces of property. In Natsu's case, he was simply a money maker for whoever owned him. When a fighter wasn't dauntless, they were culled from the group.

"Why do you care about me so much?" he asked. "We don't even know each other." She didn't know him, but he knew her.

"I don't believe that," Lucy replied, brushing a blonde curl behind her ear. "I feel like I know you. My heart keeps telling me I know you."

Natsu remained silent. He wondered if their childhood bond was strong enough to overthrow the magic spell that had been placed on her. Long ago, when Natsu was nine years old, he'd met a seven year old Lucy. They became really good friends, but he was a slave and she was a little Princess. Unfortunately, when Natsu turned ten they put him in the arena, since then that was all he knew. Lucy's father was the one who ordered it, especially when he discovered Natsu came from a clan that worshipped a fire dragon. It seemed to all becoming together for King Heartfilia, he'd finally have his dragons.

"My name is Natsu."

Lucy looked at him with wide eyes, her tears finally stopping. "It's nice to meet you, Natsu." She smiled brightly.

* * *

**-xOx-**

* * *

Loke stood quietly behind King Heartfilia, who was sitting at his desk, digging through his records of investments. The Lion of Magnolia tried to read what little he could, but he already knew more than enough. The King was a chatty drunk after all, which was why Loke always made sure his wine glass was full. It angered Loke how the King treated his daughter. He wasn't physically mean, but he had emotionally abused her. Most of the time he cared more about his wealth than his own family, and that saddened Loke. The last time he'd seen his family was when he was six years old. He never heard from them again when he was put into slavery.

"Has Lucy returned?" King Heartfilia asked, not looking up from the record book he was flipping through.

Loke shook his head. "No, sir."

When King Heartfilia had found out about Lucy getting in the middle of the fight, he scolded her. He had even said some very hurtful things and all because his knew Dragon Slayer had almost been killed. Thankfully, Queen Layla was there to silence him before he could do anymore damage. Loke, however, knew that when King Heartfilia had told Lucy that he wished she had been hit…it destroyed her.

"The spell should have worked," King Heartfilia said, slamming his clenched fist on the desk. "She wasn't supposed to remember him."

Loke remained silent. He didn't want to say something that would get himself, the slave, or Lucy in trouble. At the moment, King Heartfilia was on edge and when that happened he ruled with an iron fist.

"With Black Steel and Salamander," King Heartfilia paused and slammed the record book shut. "Bring my daughter home, Loke."

"Yes sir," Loke replied with a bow and silently left the room. When he closed the door, he sighed softly and leaned back against the door. He turned his head when he heard footsteps echoing in the hallway. Straightening up quickly, Loke bowed to Layla as she approached him. "My Lady," he greeted politely.

"What is he doing, Loke?" she asked, stopping before him.

"I'm not sure," he answered truthfully.

Layla nodded her head in understanding and signaled for him to walk with her. He did as she asked. When they came around the corner that lead to the stairwell, Layla stopped. She turned to Loke and really looked at him. "You've grown up, Loke."

He blinked a few times, not understanding what she was getting at. "What brought this on?" he asked with a tilt of his head.

"I'm not proud of what my husband has done," Layla explained, but Loke was still confused. "Lucy isn't the only one he has hurt. He's hurt you too."

"Me?" Loke repeated.

Layla nodded her head and reached for the chain around her neck. She pulled up the pendant on the chain from under the bodice of her dress. It was a key, a gold key with a familiar symbol attached to it. "This is your Gate Key, Loke. You are not from this world."

Loke stiffened.

"You're Leo the Lion," Layla paused and put the key back under her clothing. "The strongest of the Zodiac."

"I don't understand," Loke replied, shaking his head. He couldn't believe that he wasn't from this world, but instead the Spirit World.

"I will explain everything in time, but I've already said enough." Layla smiled apologetically and started down the stairs. Loke followed after her and was about to ask all kinds of questions, but she stopped him before he could. "The King told you to get Lucy, now go." She walked towards the reading room, and Loke sighed heavily. He had so many questions, he wished the Queen had said nothing at all.

* * *

**-xOx-**

* * *

Natsu had fallen asleep, but Lucy remained at his side. She had come to see him every day since the fight. Her mother and father didn't think it was such a good idea, but she needed to find out more. Somehow she knew Natsu, he felt so familiar to her, and so warm. She stared at him as he was sleeping soundly on the small cot. If it were up to her, she'd move him somewhere more comfortable. He was a slave though, and because of that he was forced to suffer.

"Princess." Levy stood in the doorway. "Loke is here for you."

Lucy looked at Levy and nodded her head. "I'll be back tomorrow." She stood up from Natsu's cot and brushed his pink hair from his face.

"We'll take good care of him, don't worry," Levy assured the Princess as she walked out of the cell. They closed the gate and started up the stairs to where Loke was waiting for her. When Lucy reached the top she spotted Loke, leaning against a stone pillar. "You two be careful heading back, okay." Levy waved to them as they started walking away.

"Is everything alright? You look distracted today," Lucy mentioned as they exited the arena.

Loke knew he couldn't tell Lucy what her mother had told him, but he also knew Lucy wouldn't believe any of his lies. She knew him so well, they were practically brother and sister. "There's a lot going on, I'm fine." He flashed her his signature charming smile. Lucy looked doubtful of his words, but she was too tired to pry.

"Okay," Lucy replied with a single nod. "But if something's bothering you can tell me, you know that right?" she asked as they entered the city square. Loke nodded, assuring her that he knew she would always listen. Lucy smiled and stopped him from walking.

"What about you? Levy mentioned that he woke up, did you talk to him?" Loke asked her.

"Yeah," she said with a small smile, feeling very proud that she had the chance to talk to him. "His name is Natsu."

"I know," Loke admitted, and Lucy furrowed her brows in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "How do you know?" She waited for him to say something, but Loke just shook his head. He tried to walk away, but Lucy grabbed his arm and gently pulled him back.

"Princess," Loke tried. "I think your father has something to do with all of this."

"I don't understand."

"He's been going through his record books," Loke explained, taking her hand and pulling her over to an empty bench. He sat her down and looked around, making sure no one was listening. "Natsu used to be a slave for your family in the past, but then your father sold him to slavers that trained them for the arena. The transaction didn't go as he planned."


	9. Truth

**Author's Note: **Hello my lucky stars! I'm telling you, you guys are the best. I love all the comments and words of encouragement, they really inspire me to write my best for all of you! This story is so much fun to me and it's even better knowing how many of you like it. So thank you, thank you! And I just recently purchased the Fairy Tail movie, which i loved and it inspired me to write as well. I really hope you all enjoy...well you might not enjoy it...but I hope it gets your blood boiling. Let's try and hit 70 reviews before the next chapter yeah? Leave a review, love ya!

**Special Thanks: **ghostbones, lalapie203, Xayase, AWK and The Akatsugirls, dreamer, Mr. CR, OmegeSage037, and 2kade! You all are the best of the best for commenting! This chapter is for all of you!

**Warnings: **AU. Sexual Content. Cursing. Violence.

* * *

**Truth**

Loke told Lucy everything he knew before they returned home to the estate that evening. She couldn't believe what he had told her, in fact she didn't want to believe it. How could her father do something like that? There had to be a mistake, maybe Loke had misunderstood something. When Lucy thought about it though, Loke was normally right on the money when it came to information. As Lucy was walking down the hallway to the dining hall, she stopped. She had to know the truth, she needed to hear it from her father.

The Princess spun around on her heels and made her way to the stairs. Her mind was made up, she was going to ask her father to explain everything. At twenty-one years old, Lucy believed she was old enough to know the truth. Running up the stairs, Lucy went straight for her father's office at the end of the left corridor. When she got to his office doors, she pushed them open. She was so enraged, she didn't believe that he deserved the courtesy of her knocking.

"Lucy?" her father questioned as she stormed up to his desk.

"Tell me the truth," Lucy demanded, slamming her palm down on her father's desk. He blinked several times, confused and shocked from his daughter's outburst. "When I was seven years old, I knew a little boy and his name was Natsu Dragneel. Then on your order he was sold to slavers to train him to be a fighter for the arena."

Jude Heartfilia looked away from his daughter and ran his fingers through his hair. He could feel her anger radiating from her body, he could see the fire in her eyes, and she wasn't leaving without a proper explanation. It wasn't how he wanted to do this, nor was it how he wanted it to happen. Lucy was never supposed to remember her childhood friend. Natsu was simply supposed to come into his arena, and help him defeat the King of Crocus.

Lucy stared at her father, waiting for him to explain himself. "Well, father?" she pushed.

"Sit down, Lucy," he said, gesturing to one of the chairs behind her.

"I'd much rather stand," Lucy hissed, and he sighed heavily. "Tell me the truth!" she snapped, and her father glared at her. He knew she was upset with him, but he still demanded that she show him respect.

"I am your father, Lucy, you will talk to me with respect," he scolded, but the blonde only scowled. She threw her hands up in the air and spun around, so that her back was facing her father. It was a simple task; all he had to do was tell her the truth. She wanted to know why, no, she needed to know why.

"Father, I am asking you to tell me the truth," Lucy said calmly, trying to get her composure back. "I don't understand why I can't remember. I know him, I can feel it."

"Okay," King Heartfilia began with a soft sigh. "I will tell you the truth."

Lucy turned around and crossed her arms over her chest. The King licked his lips and began to tell the story of what exactly happened.

When Natsu was five years old, his entire tribe had been murdered. He was the only survivor. No one knew that he had managed to escape the genocide of his people though. For almost two years, Natsu was raised by the powerful fire dragon, Igneel. However, since his birth Natsu was trained under Igneel to learn Dragon Slayer magic. He was the future leader of the tribe, so he would be the one who needed to protect it. Just before Natsu's seventh birthday, a group of slavers heading into Crocus had found him. They brought him in as an orphan slave and that was the first time Macao and Jude had seen him.

They were on official business in Crocus to prepare for the Colosseum Battles. During their stay, Jude had discovered that the King of Crocus had found a Dragon Slayer. He was still a young child, but they were training him to master his magic. Fearing that one day, Jude would be defeated he went in search for a Dragon Slayer himself. Macao had overheard some of the slavers speaking of an orphan from the Fire Tribe. Thinking they might have a chance for him to be a Dragon Slayer, Macao and Jude purchased the slave and put him to work on a farm until he would be old enough to enter training for the arena.

That was how Lucy and Natsu had ended up meeting. One year when the family estate was being rebuilt, they came to live out on the Magnolia country side. The two quickly became friends and played all the time, they were inseparable. Layla used to joke that Lucy and Natsu would one day fall in love, but Jude assured her that could never happen. Lucy was the Princess of Magnolia, she was royalty and could never be with a lowly slave. Their friendship however was short lived. When Natsu turned ten years old, Jude sold him to some slavers to prepare him for the arena. Somehow though, word had gotten out that Natsu was possible a Dragon Slayer.

The slavers then sold him off, and Jude had lost contact of were the Dragon Slayer had went. Lucy had constantly asked what had happened to her friend and she cried many nights, in order to ease her pain, the King decided to wipe him from her memories. After that, Lucy never asked about Natsu, nor did she even mention him. Layla was upset with him, scolding him from taking away precious memories. King Jude assured her it was in the best interest of their daughter, especially since they may never see Natsu again.

It wasn't until ten years later that King Heartfilia had heard rumors about a fighter using powerful fire magic. He didn't believe it could have possibly been Natsu, but his curiosity had been struck. He sent Macao to find him, but all trails ended up turning cold. They even found some that were imposters, but none of them were Natsu. Then on one fateful day, one of Macao's contacts had located a slave with pink hair that appeared to be the right age for Natsu. They sent for him and he was brought to the slaver post just outside of the city, where Macao had finally found the Dragon Slayer they had been searching for.

Lucy stared at her father in shock. She couldn't believe that story, it was a lot of information to take in. Biting her lip, Lucy shook her head and looked down at the floor. "If you wiped away my memories of him, why would you bring him back? Why would you search for him?"

Jude looked at his daughter and opened his mouth to speak, but quickly closed it. His true answer would sound selfish, and no lie would ever be good enough for her to believe. "I need him, Lucy."

"For what!" she exclaimed, completely furious with her father now. She knew what he was going to say, but it wasn't a good enough answer for her. "What is so important about these Colosseum Battles? He doesn't deserve to be used like that!"

"He is a slave, Lucy!" Jude barked, slamming his fist on his desk. He had had enough of her attitude, she was his daughter. When he stood up from the desk, he stared right into Lucy's eyes. "He is my property! A tool. Nothing more and nothing less."

Lucy narrowed her eyes at her father. "They're people! All of those fighters in the arena, they are human!"

Her heart was racing in her chest, pounding so loudly, she could swear he could hear it. While she remained strong in her facial expressions, showing anger and frustration, deep down Lucy was terrified. Coming after her father like this would most definitely be a mistake, but she felt so passionate for those slaves, especially Natsu. The way her father treated them like they were objects for her amusement repulsed her. She refused to believe he could be her father, she couldn't be related to someone so cold. Her blood coursed through her veins at a rapid rate, she knew she would be punished later. At that moment though, she couldn't think about that. Her father needed to know every single emotion she felt until he was numbed by it.

Jude took in a sharp breath, his nostrils flaring as he did so. The room had fallen silent, but the tension was so loud and heavy that he felt like he was suffocating. He didn't know what to say to his daughter as she stood before him. Should he punish her for her disrespectful behavior or just simply let it go? In the end, it was his fault that this happened, Lucy never asked for any of this. He did it to her, and all those years ago he knew that if she ever found out the guilt and hurt would haunt him forever. Apparently it is true that you can't run forever, and secrets are always shared.

"I feel so foolish," Lucy breathed, let her shoulders fall and finally giving up. Yelling at her father, belittling what he did, trying to make him understand would not change a thing. He was set in his ways. "You'll never change, you'll always be this power hungry man with a terrible hobby of collecting people like they are objects."

Jude was silent. He didn't know what to say, his mind was going a million miles an hour. His daughter had wounded him in a way that no one ever could. Her words cut so deep that he was amazed blood was not spilling from his mouth and eyes. It shouldn't have been this way, she shouldn't have found out. Jude's jaw clenched tightly, and he stiffened as anger started riveting through him. This hate and anger was building, he wouldn't be able to contain it much longer. Someone told her about this, she didn't figure this all out on her own.

"Who told you?" Jude asked his daughter in a firm emotionless voice.

Lucy didn't say anything, she just stared back at her father.

"Loke?" he tried with narrowed eyes filled with aggravation and devastation. "He is the only one that could have told you."

"It wasn't him!" Lucy hissed, hoping her father wouldn't see through her lie. She could feel the sweat building on her skin. "No one told me."

"Alzack," Jude called out.

Lucy's eyes widened and the air in her lungs seemed to disappear.

"Sir," Alzack Connell, one of the guards to the Heartfilia Estate, said as he entered the room. His hair was up in a spiky heap and he wore a long brown coat that resembled a poncho.

"Bring Loke to the courtyard," Jude commanded icily.

"No!" Lucy screeched. She knew exactly what her father was going to do to Loke. The thought made her knees turn to jelly. Her father was going to tied Loke to a post and beat him with a whip until he was nothing but a bloody heap. She'd seen him do it once before to a slave that had tried to rape her mother. That slave ended up dying from an infection four days later. Lucy would never forget his screaming, the thundering snap of the whip, and the splattering of his blood. If Loke went through that, she wouldn't be able to handle it.

When Lucy snapped out of her thoughts of fear, she looked up to find her father was already gone. His footsteps were echoing in the halls, so loud that it made her want to fall to the floor. She had to stop him though, she couldn't let him hurt Loke. Turning on her heels, Lucy ran after her father, calling out to him, begging for him to stop. She got to the stairs and saw her father was already at the bottom. Lucy screamed his name as loudly as she could, but he completely ignored her.

"Lucy! What's happening?" Erza gasped as she came running down the hall. When she got to Lucy, she started to worry. The Princess had gone pale and was shivering, tears streaming down her face. "Lucy? What's wrong?" the redhead asked, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder. With her other hand, Erza quickly dried Lucy's tears. The blonde pushed away from Erza and ran down the stairs quickly, following after her father.

"Erza, what is going on?" Layla asked when she came out of the reading room. Her eyes darted to her daughter, who ran down the hallway towards the courtyard out back in the garden. The redhead came down the stairs and looked at the Queen.

"I have no idea," Erza answered.

Lucy got out to the courtyard and was panting lightly. She gasped when she saw that Alzack already had Loke tied to the post. His shirt had been torn off and he was down on his knees with his wrist bound tight. Standing behind Loke with a whip in hand was her father, Jude Heartfilia, or at least the evil demon pretending to be him. Lucy felt her heart stop when her father undid the whip and struck Loke on his bare back.

"Father! Please don't!" The blonde came running forth, grabbing hold of her father's arm, trying to stop him from doing it again. She pulled with all her might, tears burning her eyes where everything looked blurry. "Stop it!" she pleaded.

Her father shoved her off, causing her to fall onto the ground. She watched as her father lifted his arm high and brought the whip forward, striking Loke's back again. He didn't make a single sound, he just stayed on his knees and took it. His skin was beginning to welt, and Lucy knew one or two more hits would cause lacerations. Lucy trembled as her father struck Loke again with an even greater force.

"Stop! Daddy!" Lucy cried, getting back onto her feet.

"What's going on out here?" Layla asked as she came out the doors with Erza at her side. When the two women saw what was going on, they ran down there. "Jude! Stop this! Why are you doing this?" she ran over to him, grabbing his arm, but he shoved her back.

"I'll show this slave," Jude seethed. "How dare he betray me!"

"No!" Layla shouted, but Jude struck Loke again.

Blood oozed from the welts on his back, slowly rolling down his skin. Jude whipped him again, and again, and again. Loke was just hanging before the pole, blood coming from his mouth. The sickening snap of the whip echoed in the courtyard, ringing in everyone's ears. When the whip slapped Loke on his back again, blood splattered all around. He was hit again, and Lucy fell onto her knees, watching in horror as her father beat her friend. His back was so torn apart it looked as though he no longer had skin. Pieces of flesh flew around when her father went to hit him with the whip again.

"Jude! Enough!" Layla commanded, walking over to her husband. She grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "You'll kill him!" Layla hissed, but Jude turned away from her and struck Loke once again.

"Please," Lucy begged. "Don't."

Jude looked at his daughter, who was being held by her redhead maid. He let out a shaky breath and glanced to his wife, who gave him a pleading look. Jude let the whip fall from his hand, and slowly walked away without saying a single word to any of them. When he entered the mansion, Layla trembled as she approached Loke. His back was covered in gashes so deep, she thought she could see his spine. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she carefully untied the unconscious man. Layla feared he would not survive the night.


	10. Loke

**Author's Note: **Hello my sweetums! I am so excited to bring all of you the next chapter of this story, unfortunately this will be the last update until Wednesday, because I will be going on a business trip for work. So thanks to everyone who has followed this story and favored it, it's much appreciated it! And thank you all so much for giving me 76 comments! My mind was blown to see that many, I am so overjoyed! Thank you all for the support. perhaps we can make it to 90 by Wednesday? Lots of love all you wonderful readers! Enjoy this chapter!

**Special Thanks:** aztec360, Mr. CR, lalapie203, Xayase, Llaelien, Luna3300, 2kade, AWK and The Akatsugirls, OmegaSage037, Guest, and dreamer! You guys totally rock! Thanks for commenting!

**Warnings: **AU. Sexual Content. Cursing. Violence.

* * *

**Loke**

The city of Magnolia became shrouded in dark clouds. Thunder began to light the underbellies of the storm clouds, and the wind began to rage on. In a matter of seconds rain started pitter-pattering on the ground, darkening its appearance and making it slippery. Lucy and her mother hand Loke's arms draped around their shoulders. They had sent Erza ahead to the arena to let them know they were coming. While it would have been better to not carry Loke through the rain and halfway across the city, Layla knew they couldn't stay at the estate. She had an idea that could save Loke's life, and she didn't want anyone to know.

"Hurry Lucy," Layla said as she tried to pick up the pace. They needed to get out of the rain as soon as possible. The last thing they needed was for Loke to get sick, it wouldn't help at all. "Hang in there, Loke," the Queen said to him, hoping he could make it. She knew he was in a lot of pain, more pain than he'd ever been in before.

His breathing was faint and he had lost quite a bit of blood. Jude had whipped him twenty times, and not once did Loke make a single sound. If it weren't for the rain, Lucy's tears would easily be seen. Not that the Princess truly cared, she felt so guilty. It was all her fault that Loke had been hurt like this, she wished she could go back in time and change the way she handled things. Her insolence was got Loke beaten within an inch of his life.

"Princess Lucy!" Gray's voice sounded from behind. The two women stopped and looked back to see Gray riding up on a chocolate brown horse. "Here let's get him on the horse." The dark haired guard dismounted from his horse and carefully helped Layla and Lucy put Loke onto the horse. Once they had Loke on the horse, Gray took off his cloak and draped it over Loke.

The trio hurried to the arena through the heavy rainfall and strong winds. It wasn't normal for Magnolia to have such a storm, but Lucy found it quite fitting. The whole situation was terrible, she feared Loke would die. As they hurried through the streets some people looked on and began whispering amongst themselves as they passed by. Without a doubt rumors would spread throughout the city, and they most likely wouldn't be good ones. She couldn't think about that right now though, they had to save Loke. If he didn't make it she would never forgive herself. He'd always been there for her, making her laugh, being her shoulder to cry on, and she loved him like she would a brother.

After another ten minutes of being in the rain, they finally arrived at the arena. Just as they walked into the covered entry way, Macao and Erza came forth. The redheaded woman was soaking wet and panting hard. Macao quickly came over to Loke and lifted the cloak. He stared at the lash marks on his back, and shook his head. He knew that Jude was cruel to his slaves at times, but this was one of the worst cases. It was even more shocking that it was Loke, one of his most prized and adored slaves. Everyone in the Heartfilia estate loved Loke, even most of the people of Magnolia loved him. If Loke did not survive this, there was no telling what kind of bad mark it would leave on the Heartfilia family.

"His wounds are bad," Macao said, placing the cloak back down gently. He turned to Lucy and Layla, who looked on in both shame and worry. "We'll do what we can."

"Macao, please save him," Lucy begged with puffy eyes and a red nose. When he looked at her, he gave her a sympathetic smile. He couldn't make her any promises, he had fighters that had less severe injuries. "This is all my fault." She buried her face in her hands and started weeping loudly.

Layla and Erza both tried to comfort her, but no amount of comforting would help. She wanted to know Loke would be okay, she wanted him to tell her that he was going to be okay. Unfortunately, Loke was out cold and they wouldn't know anything until morning. Macao deep down believed that if Loke survived the night, he would make it.

"Levy and I will do everything we can," Macao assured Lucy before turning to Gray. "Let's get him down to the slave quarters." Nodding his head, Gray handed the reins of his horse over to Erza and helped Macao get Loke. As they walked away, Lucy watched and looked to the ground seeing his blood trickling onto the ground. Her mother hugged her tight and assured her that everything would be alright.

Upon entering the slave quarters, Macao called out to Levy. The blue haired girl was changing Natsu's bandages as they came in. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw Loke half dead in Macao and Gray's arms. She excused herself and ran over to the two, holding Loke up. Macao explained that he had been whipped and was losing a lot of blood. The blue haired girl nodded and walked over to a table in the center of the room. She cleared off her books and medicines she had been working on for Natsu and Gajeel.

"Lay him here," Levy commanded.

Doing as they were told, Macao and Gray laid Loke belly down on the table. Levy carefully pulled the cloak off of his body and gasped. She had never seen a slave so torn up before. They had to stitch him up as best they could and clean all his wounds, she feared he'd get an infection otherwise.

"Hang in there, Loke, don't you dare die on us," Macao said, kneeling down before the table. He'd know Loke for a long time and watched him endure many battles. They were friends, and he couldn't bear to see a friend die, especially like this.

"Gray, Macao, hold him down," Levy said as she pulled a cork from a bottle. The two stood on either side of Loke and did as she had asked. Letting out a breath, Levy poured the bottle over his back. The orange haired male cried out in pain and tried to move, but Macao and Gray kept him in place. "I'm gonna give him some morphine." Levy turned around and opened up a wooden chest, pulling out a small dark bottle and a rather large syringe. She filled it with the morphine and turned back to Loke.

Pushing the needle into Loke's neck, she pressed the syringe down to unleash the medicine. Levy pulled the needle out and looked to Macao. "I'll go get some fresh bandages." He walked away in the direction of the infirmary, leaving Gray and Levy alone.

"Do you think he'll make it?" Gray asked Levy.

"He'll make it," Gajeel's voice came from the cell behind them. The two looked to the Iron Dragon Slayer, who was standing in front of his cell door. He was bandaged from head to toe, but overall did not appear to be in much pain. "He's the Lion of Magnolia, don't count him out. He's tough."

"I hope you're right," Gray replied. "For Lucy's sake."

"What happened to him," Natsu asked, looking at them from his cot. "How'd he get so beaten up?"

Levy was about to explain, but went silent when Lucy and Layla entered the slave quarters. The two blonde women came over to Loke's side and examined him closely. His breathing was shallow, and his wounds deep. Levy could see the devastation in their eyes and assured them she was do whatever it took to save him. Layla thanked Levy for her kind words and turned her attention to Gray. "Jellal is outside, Erza is explaining what had happened."

"I'll go," Gray said with a weak smile. He walked over to Lucy and put a hand under her chin. She looked up at him and let a few tears fall. Gray wiped them away and pulled her into a warm embrace. "He'll make it, Lucy, he will." He rubbed her back and placed a kiss on her head before pulling away. They locked eyes, and Lucy nodded stiffly. Gray knew she didn't really believe him, but there was nothing more he could say or do.

Just as Gray left, Macao entered the common area with fresh bandages in hand. He handed them over to Levy and told her to do whatever she could to make him comfortable. She nodded her head and placed all the bandages and gauze onto the table beside Loke's. Her eyes drifted over to Lucy, who was standing at the head of the table. The blonde took hold of Loke's hand and gently squeezed it.

"I'm gonna try to stitch up some of his wounds," Levy said, earning Lucy's attention. "You might not want to be here for that."

"No, I'll keep him calm and still," Lucy told Levy, who smiled weakly and nodded. The blonde sighed softly as Levy prepared to stitch up his wounds. She turned to look at Natsu's cell and found him staring at her. He showed no emotions at all, he simply stared at her. Lucy wanted to talk to him, she had so many questions to ask him. Those questions would have to wait until Loke was taken care of though.

"Okay, I'm going to start," Levy said as she held a needle in her hand. Lucy nodded her head, and held onto Loke's hand tightly. Just as the blue girl was about to beginning stitching his wounds, she prayed that the morphine was working. She stuck the needle through his skin, and he remained still. Letting out a breath of relief, Levy began sewing up his wounds as gently as she could.

Layla seemed relieved that Loke was not screaming in pain as Levy stitched him up. She looked to her left and saw Macao standing beside her. His arms were crossed over his chest, and his eyes were fixed on Loke.

"Why did he do this? He loves Loke," Macao muttered with a shake of his head.

Layla looked at Macao. "I need to speak with you in private."

He turned to the woman with curiosity in his eyes. Putting a hand on the small of her back, Macao guided her to the armory where they would be alone. No one seemed to notice them leaving, aside from Natsu. He was half tempted to follow them, his cell was open after all. If he tried to leave though, Levy or Lucy would surely notice. So instead, Natsu decided to remain in his cell, watching Lucy as she sadly looked at the orange haired man on the table.

Right after Macao shut the door to the armory, Layla took a seat on one of the wooden benches in the room. She seemed distressed, which concerned m=Macao. He walked over to her and took a seat beside her. She licked her lips and turned to look him right in the eye. "I want to break the spell on Loke."

Macao's mouth fell open, and he began shaking his head. "Your highness," he began, completely skeptical about her whole idea. "He could die in the process. He's been out of the Spirit World for far too long. During the transition he will most likely die."

"Macao, you saw his injuries. They are extensive, and I doubt he'll make it. If we send him back to the Spirit World he'll live," Layla explained, which Macao already knew.

"Loke has no memory of ever being a Celestial Spirit," Macao reminded her. "Besides...his transition, he won't be able to handle that. Not like this."

"It's our only chance to save him," Layla stated firmly, pulling Loke's Key from under the bodice of her dress. She held the trinket in front of Macao's face and let a few tears fall from her eyes. "I told him, who he was."

"You what?" Macao gaped.

"I had too," Layla confessed, but Macao shook his head. "I only told him who he was. He deserved to know."

Macao heaved a heavy sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. Ever since Natsu had come around, things seemed to have gotten so chaotic. Before that pink haired man things were easy, he trained the slaves, looked after Levy, and would call it a day. Lately it just seemed to be issue after issue. In a matter of a week, Magnolia seemed to be in a crazy downward spiral to hell.

"He is the King of the Zodiac! They won't reject him," Layla informed Macao, but he already knew that information. He just couldn't believe that the Spirit World would accept him back so easily. Loke hadn't been in the Spirit World or in contact with in for over a decade.

"No, Queen Layla." Macao shook his head. "Loke is no longer the King of the Zodiac. He is an outsider, and because we wiped away his memories and replaced them with others, he wouldn't even know how to be a king."

"This could save his life," Layla said, taking Macao's hand and placing the Key in the middle of his palm. She forced his hand to close around the Key and let him go. "What do we have to lose? He'll die of infection anyways."

Macao swallowed hard. "Let's see how he is in the morning," he paused, "I believe Levy can save him. You should too, because this," he held up Loke's Key, "should only be a last resort."

* * *

**-xOx-**

* * *

Natsu woke with a dull pain in his shoulder. It was much better than it had been, Levy had taken really good care of him. She believed that he would be as good as knew with a few more days of rest. The Salamander was growing bored though, sitting in his cell all day with nothing tone down except counting the bricks in the wall. Of course, it wasn't like he could move much otherwise a shooting pain was ripple through him, making him want to crumble to the floor. The sunlight poured through the rectangular windows of the cells, giving the room a very dim glow.

As he sat up, Natsu looked over to the middle of the common room. He blinked a few times, seeing his cell was still unlocked and wide open. When he stood up from his cot, he quietly walked over and stopped at the doorway. His charcoal colored eyes landed on Lucy Heartfilia sitting on a wooden stool beside the table Loke was laying on. He was bandaged up, but he looked better than he did the night before. As Natsu watched them, he licked his lips and slowly moved forward. When he stepped from his cell, he looked around to make sure no one was around.

His eyes landed on Lucy again as she was slouched over on the table. It couldn't have been comfortable to stay like that all night. Natsu was sure of one thing though, Lucy had a big heart. For her to have stayed in her wet clothes all night by her slave's side, she had to have a big heart. Natsu walked over to Lucy and stood beside her for a moment. He smiled weakly and looked to Loke's back. Some of the bandages were dampened by his blood, but for the most part he looked alright.

"Princess," Natsu whispered, gently touching the side of her face. He brushed a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. Her skin was so soft and smooth against his calloused hands. She was absolutely beautiful, she'd grown up well. "Wake up, Princess."

Lucy's eyes fluttered open and she groaned, sitting up slowly. She rubbed her eyes, trying to wake herself up. There was a crick in her neck, which she was sure it was from how she slept. After a few moments, Lucy remembered everything that had happened the previous evening. Her eyes widened, and she looked to the person who had awaken her.

"Natsu," she breathed as she looked up at him. Lucy looked away and stood, looking down at Loke's bandages.

"Oh, you're awake," Levy said as she came forth with a wooden bucket filled with fresh knew bandages. "Natsu!" she yelped when she saw the slave outside of his cell.

"I'm going back," he assured Levy. His eyes fell onto Lucy, and she looked up at him. A small smile came onto his lips, and he bowed slightly to her. "I just wanted to make sure the Princess was okay." With those words, Natsu returned to his cell quietly.


	11. Memories

**Author's Note: **Hello Fairy Tail lovers! I got some free time whilst on this business trip thing and wrote the next chapter, yay! I really hope you all enjoy this chapter, things are finally starting to come together now. Which means getting closer to the Nalu moments! So right now we're at 86 comments, I'm hoping to make 95 before the next chapter, let's do it! Also thanks so much for sticking with me on this story everyone, I'm so proud of it.

**Special Thanks:** lalapie203, Celtika82, Mr. CR, OmegaSage037, Stinger10, AWk and The Akatsugirls, JustInLoveWithFairyTail, and dreamer!

**Warnings: **AU. Sexual Content. Cursing. Violence.

* * *

**Memories**

Lucy was standing in front of a large stone sink, pumping some water from the metal pipes sticking out of the wall. She cupped her hands beneath the water and splashed it onto her face. It was late morning and Macao was having his slaves run around the arena. Pulling out her hair clip, Lucy let her blonde hair cascade down her shoulders. Lucy walked away from the large stone sink and was about to head back into the slave common area, but stopped when Natsu came walking out. Her brown eyes widened in surprise, she didn't think he'd be able to participate in the fights. His injury was still healing, he probably be down for a month.

"I don't think you should be out here," Lucy said to him.

"Don't worry, Princess, I'm simply getting some fresh air." Natsu smiled at her and glanced over his shoulder as Jet and Droy stood behind him. Lucy nodded in understanding and bit her lip. She wanted to talk to him, Loke was still out and Levy was watching over him. A short ten minute talk wouldn't hurt. "I am curious though, what happened to your friend in there?" Natsu asked as he started walking over to the stone benches.

Lucy followed him and sat beside him. Droy and Jet were about to stop her, but she commanded them to stand by the sinks. They would be just out of earshot, but close enough to watch Natsu. It wasn't like he was really a threat to begin with, not with his injuries.

"It was all my fault that he got hurt," Lucy explained, gripping to the fabric of her dress tightly. Natsu furrowed his brows and could see the distress on Lucy's face. "He told me…everything that my father has done." She shook her head and sighed in defeat. Her brown eyes looked into Natsu's charcoal ones, and she smiled weakly.

"Which was?" he pressed, wanting to know more.

"He told me about you," Lucy replied.

Natsu looked away from Lucy and clared his throat. His history was not something he cared to remember, there were very few good memories there. A handful of those good memories were with Igneel and Lucy. Most other memories he had of his past were being beaten, locked in a dank cell, being deprived of food and water, working in hot fields, sleeping in mud, and being left out in the cold. Sometimes, he wondered how he even managed to survive as he did. It might have been those few good memories with Igneel and Lucy. Natsu couldn't deny that he hoped to find both of them again. He was glad that he had found Lucy, even though she hadn't remembered him.

"Natsu," Lucy said, pulling him from his thoughts. "Is it true? Did we know each other when we were little?"

Natsu didn't speak, he just nodded his head. They played together all the time, they built forts out of pillows, wet swimming in the river, picked flowers in the meadow, and he didn't forget a single moment he spent with her that year. At first he didn't think much of her, she was just a princess with knobby knees, and frilly dresses, but she asked him to play with her and everything changed. For the first time in a long time, Natsu felt like someone actually cared about him. After he was taken from Igneel he was always in slave markets or put onto farmlands to help with the animals or crops. Lucy made him smile again, she made him happy.

"I don't remember what we did, but I know that I was happy." She smiled at him, and Natsu looked at her. He slowly lifted his hand and gently brushed her blonde hair behind her ear. Her eyes closed at his warm touch, but when it moved away she opened her eyes. "Could you remind me?"

Natsu laughed lightly. "Of course, Princess," he replied. "You were seven and I was nine, and we were playing outside in the backyard of your parent's country house. It was beautiful, and there was a big tree, the biggest you and I had ever seen before. There was a swing, you always loved to swing on it and one day you asked if I would push you. And that's when it all started."

"I remember that swing," Lucy said with a bright smile. "It's still there." She looked at Natsu and asked him to tell her more, so he did.

He told her about the time they snuck into the kitchen before dinner and had stolen the chocolate pie her mother had made for dessert. They had eaten the whole thing and were caught by her mother, who scolded them both and as punishment had them clean out the attic of the house. That had only lead them into more adventure though when they built a huge fort out of the boxes. According to Natsu they pretended to slay dragons, and pretended to be the king and queen of a royal kingdom.

Lucy laughed as Natsu told her how they used to play pretend everything. She hated that she wasn't able to remember a single thing, but she believed every word of it. Lucy knew her parents didn't want to hurt her by taking away her memories, they simply didn't want her to be sad. In this very moment though, Lucy felt so sad that her precious childhood memories had been taken away.

"You were a real troublemaker back then," Natsu chuckled. "I guess not much has changed though."

Lucy stifled a laugh and shrugged her shoulders. "I guess not," she paused for a moment and looked up at the clear blue sky, "I wish I could get those memories back." She shook her head and looked at Natsu.

"You can make new ones," he told her. "Better ones."

"My father told me that I cried for days when you were taken away," Lucy explained to Natsu. "That's why they took away any memories I had of you, but I guess I loved you so much that my heart couldn't forget you, as silly as that sounds." She felt herself blushing and bit her lip nervously. When she glanced at Natsu, he was beaming with joy.

"It isn't silly," Natsu replied, putting a hand under her chin. Her heart was pounding in her chest and a million butterflies were flying around in her stomach. "It was because of those memories that I have survived. Our friendship as children…meant everything to me." He stroked her cheek with his thumb, and moved his hand away.

Lucy didn't know what to say to him. It was obvious that their bond was still there, even if she couldn't remember it. "What happened to you…after my father sold you to the slavers?"

"A lot happened," Natsu answered.

"Lucy!" Erza called as she came running out from the slave quarters. "It's Loke, he's awake!" The redhead ran over to the two and stopped when she noticed Natsu. He smiled weakly at her and turned his attention to Lucy.

"Go see your friend," he told the blonde, and she nodded before getting up from her spot. As she walked away, Natsu watched her closely. He knew that nothing could ever become of them, but he still hoped that it could. She had grown into a brave and kind hearted young woman, she would make a great queen one day. Instead of just following someone around and doing as she was told, Lucy asked questions and challenged people. From the day they met, Natsu knew that she was a very special girl. She didn't see people as slaves or commoners or royalty, they were all people and equal in her eyes. It was that reason that Natsu felt so drawn to her.

"Tell me something Salamander," Macao spoke out as he came walking up from the other side of the arena, "do you have feelings for the Princess?"

Natsu turned to look at Macao, but he didn't answer him.

"I'm only asking, I'm not going to stop you," Macao explained as he sat down beside the bandaged fighter. "I haven't seen Lucy smile the way she did with you in a long time." He chuckled lightly and put his hands behind his head, laying back on the next stone level.

"What are you getting at?" Natsu inquired with a raised brow. He could tell Macao was a harmless man, he was actually very genuine and seemed to care about his fighters for the arena. He didn't treat them like property or animals, he actually showed them respect. Through all the slave markets and arena's Natsu had been through, not once had he ever met a man like Macao. Even all those years ago when Natsu was just a child, Macao treated him like a son. Their relationship only lasted a couple of months, but Natsu liked Macao.

"I'm not getting at anything," Macao replied with a shrug, but Natsu snorted. "But if I were to be getting at something it would be that you don't meet a woman like Lucy every dynasty."

"I'm a slave, Macao, it won't ever happen."

"Now, how do you know that?" he asked with a raised brow. "When you love someone it doesn't matter what background you come from, the only thing that matters is that you're happy." Macao turned his head to look at Natsu, who only rolled his eyes in response, but started laughing. The blue haired man began to laugh too as they sat out and enjoyed the warm light of the sun.

* * *

**-xOx-**

* * *

Loke wasn't awake for very long, just for ten minutes. That was enough for Lucy though, she just wanted to apologize to him and promise that she would make everything better. Loke only laughed and told her that it wasn't her fault. He told her that her father was the one who decided to hurt him and it had nothing to do with her. While his words consoled her, her guilt still lingered on. She didn't know what she would say to her dad, she didn't even know if she could look at him. He was a monster in her eyes.

Lucy remained at Loke's side, sitting quietly and humming a little tune. Across the room, Levy was tending to Gajeel's burns. All the other slaves were out in the arena practicing, but they would come back in soon to take a break and have lunch. Macao said they would move Loke into the infirmary, so he could be more comfortable.

"Lucy," her mother called out as they were getting ready to move Loke. The young blonde turned around and walked over to her mother. "So he's woken up?" she asked her daughter.

"Yes," Lucy nodded, "I think he's going to be okay."

Her mother smiled happily. She let out a heavy breath and put a hand on her daughter's shoulder. All night long Queen Layla had debated on what to do for Loke. She refused to let him return to the mansion fearing Jude may hurt him again, and she wouldn't dare allow him back into the arena. There was only one option left and that was to free him from the Human World and allow him to his rightful place in the Spirit World. Once Loke had regained his strength, Queen Layla would release him from his bounds here.

"I need to tell you something, Lucy," Queen Layla began and led her daughter away as Jet and Droy removed Loke from the common room. "It's about Loke."

"What about him?" Lucy asked, sounding slightly worried.

"We cannot bring him back to the mansion," Layla informed her daughter, who agreed with her. "And I will not put him back into the arena."

"You're not suggesting we sell him," Lucy gasped, pushing away from her mother. "We can't do that to him!"

"I know," Layla said calmly, clasping her hands in front of her body. "There is something you need to know, Lucy. You're father and I haven't been honest with you."

"What do you mean?" Lucy was growing worried about what her mother was going to tell her. She still wasn't over the fact that Natsu had been wiped from her memories. All these constant lies and tricks were making Lucy sick. She felt like she was trapped in a bubble and was only allowed to know so much, she was tired of the secrets. It was her right to make her own decisions, her parents had no right to keep her in the dark.

"I suppose I should start from the beginning," Layla explained as she walked over to a table and took a seat on the bench beside it. Her daughter watched her closely and crossed her arms over her chest. "Long ago when you were only a little girl, the King of Crocus wanted you to marry his son after your twenty-second birthday. You're father however did not want that to happen, so he made a suggestion that they fight and to the victor goes the spoils."

Lucy stared at her mother, shocked and confused. Nothing was making any sense, and Lucy was furious. She couldn't believe her parents didn't think to tell her that. If she was going to be forcefully marrying a man, she should know. "Don't you think you should have told me that?" Lucy hissed at her mother. In such a short amount of time a whole can of worms had been open and spread onto Lucy's plate.

"That's why I'm telling you now," Layla explained softly, hoping her daughter would give her the opportunity to speak.

"I'm turning twenty-two next year!" Lucy snapped, throwing her hands into the air.

"Lucy, please," Layla sighed, gesturing for her to keep her voice down. The Princess shook her head. It was simply too much for her to take in. "This is why your father went in search for powerful fighters."

Lucy glared at her mother. "So you allowed all of this?" She gestured to the cell surrounding them.

"It was the only way, regardless if it was right or wrong," Layla spoke gently. "Our choices were to either agree and let you go or fight for you to have your own right to marry who you wished." The woman stood up and approached Lucy, cupping her daughter's face in her soft hands. She stared into her daughter's warm brown eyes and smiled weakly.

"What does this have to do with Loke?" Lucy asked, pulling out of her mother's hold.

"He was one of the first fighters your father chose," Layla explained. "He was to be a trump card for the King of Crocus held two Dragon Slayers in his arena."

"I don't understand, Loke isn't powerful like a Dragon Slayer," Lucy said with a raised brow.

"Lucy," Layla swallowed hard, "Loke is not of our world."

Lucy's eyes widened. "What?"

"He's Leo the Lion," Layla informed her. "The King of the Zodiac."

Lucy was completely silent. She knew of the Zodiac, they were ethereal spirits that her family had contracts with. They were the protectors of her family when they could not protect themselves. In all her life, Lucy had only seen a few spirits summoned by her mother. To her knowledge, her mother owned all twelve of the zodiac keys, except for one…Leo's.

"He's the missing Key," Lucy breathed, looking into her mother's eyes.

"Yes, he is," Layla confessed, feeling a huge weight being lifted off of her shoulders. It was so relieving to tell her daughter the truth, even though it was hard. "I want to send him back to his world."

"Why did you take him from it in the first place?"

"He offered," Layla replied. "Loke has no memory of ever being the King of the Zodiac. Upon coming into the Human World as a human…he had to forget who he was."

"And sending him back? What does that do?" Lucy asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Tell her the truth, Layla," Macao chimed in. The two women looked at Macao as he leaned against a stone pillar with Natsu by his side. "No more lies."

Layla licked her lips and ran her fingers through her hair. She had already come so far, she might as well admit the entire truth to Lucy. Her daughter would be angry, but it was all they could do for Loke.

"Mom?" Lucy pressed.

"Loke has been here so long," Layla explained, and Lucy nodded slowly. "If I send him back, there is a chance he could be lost."

"Lost?" Lucy repeated.

"Between worlds," Macao clarified, and Lucy looked at him. Her lips formed into a tight line as she turned her attention back to her mother, who confirmed Macao's words with a single nod. "He'd be trapped in limbo, neither dead nor living."

Lucy couldn't take it anymore. She didn't want any more bad news or truths, she just wanted to be alone. The Princess ran out of the common area, fleeing the arena as fast as her feet could carry her.


	12. Breathe

**Author's Note: **Hello my darling readers! I will be the first to admit that this chapter is a bit dull compared to others, but it's needed for Lucy's story to grow. Also thank you to everyone who has favored this story and has put me on their author alert list, I'm very excited! Also we didn't make it to 95 comments, but that's okay cause we're so close to triple digits! I'm goal is 100 comments before the next chapter will be posted! So let's do it!

**Special Thanks:** lalapie203, Mr. CR, AWK and The Akatsugirls, dreamer, OmegaSage037, Luna3300, and JustInLoveWithFairyTail! You guys are so awesome commenting, lots of love to you!

**Warnings: **AU. Sexual Content. Cursing. Violence.

* * *

**Breathe**

Lucy panted heavily and stumbled forward, gently falling onto a tree. Her lungs were burning and her legs gave out on her, causing her to fall onto the grassy ground. Blonde hair fell into her face and sweat rolled down her chin. After a few moments, Lucy managed to calm down and turned around to sit back against the tree. She pulled her knees up into her chest, exposing the bare skin of her legs to the warm sunlight. The fabric of her dress pooled around her, keeping her private areas covered from the onlookers walking by.

Her lithe fingers combed through her blonde hair, and she shook her head. In a weeks' time, everything had gone so wrong. This was not how she imagined her homecoming at all, she wasn't even sure if there was anyone to blame. Maybe she should just be thankful since the truth had finally been revealed. Part of her wondered what would have happened when she turned twenty-two and some man showed up to marry her. Lucy leaned her head back against the smooth bark of the tree and tapped it against it a few times. She didn't know what to do, she didn't know if she should be mad or relieved.

Behind her was her home and in front of her was the arena. Those seemed to be the only thing existing in her world at the moment. Everything else around her was blurred out or draped in darkness. She didn't want to go home, but she didn't want to go to the arena either. There was one place she could go, somewhere that wasn't too far at all. Lucy got onto her feet and fixed up her dress before heading towards her family estate, she was going to be needing a horse.

* * *

**-xOx-**

* * *

Night had fallen over the city of Magnolia. Queen Layla was pacing back and forth outside of the arena, hoping to see her daughter. Unfortunately, she had no such luck, Lucy had been gone all day long. Macao had even sent Jet, Droy, and Levy to look around the city for her, but they didn't see her. Erza had gone back to the mansion and searched for her, but also returned empty handed. Gray and Jellal searched the outskirts of the city, but hadn't returned yet with any news.

Macao walked outside to greet Layla with Gajeel and Natsu at his side. When the woman heard them approaching she turned to look at them. The worry was glowing in her eyes and the frown on her face showed the sadness she felt. Natsu stared at Lucy's mother, they looked so alike it was almost scary. He understood that Lucy's mother never meant any harm, he even suspected her father meant no harm. Lying hurt people though, they tried to change everything for Lucy and in the end it finally caught up to them.

"Layla, Natsu and Gajeel can go in search for Lucy if Gray and Jellal don't find anything," Macao explained, gesturing to the two slaves behind him. "As Dragon Slayers their senses are heightened."

"How do you know they won't run?" Layla asked. Neither slave was insulted—well Gajeel was—but they understood her stance. Whenever a slave was given free rein to do as they pleased, obviously they would try to escape.

"I trust them," Macao replied truthfully. "Gajeel has been with us for six years, and Natsu…well he seems to really like your daughter." The slaver gave Layla a reassuring smile and turned to the two Dragon Slayers, gesturing for them to say something.

"It's not like I got anywhere else to go," Gajeel snorted, and Macao rolled his eyes. It wasn't like Gajeel was one for words, Macao assumed that Gajeel was only sticking around because he liked Levy. If it wasn't for the petite blue haired girl, Gajeel would probably be leaving. "I'm a fighter, it's the only thing I got." He shrugged his shoulders, and Layla looked at him. She studied his burly figure, his long dark raven hair, the metal studs piercing his face, those demonic red eyes, and the scars on his body from countless battles he'd fought.

"How long is your sentence, Gajeel?" Layla asked him.

"Ten year sentence," he answered, looking right into her eyes.

"What did you do?" she asked, and Gajeel swallowed hard. It wasn't something he liked to talk about. Perhaps it was because he was wrongfully accused, or maybe it was because he knew she wouldn't believe him. Experience had been cruel to him, no one ever believed his story. That was why he stopped telling the story.

"Didn't you know, Queen Layla?" he asked, and she tilted her head. "We're all innocent." He smirked, showing his fang like teeth. The blonde only stifled a laugh and shook her head.

"He's a bit rough around the edges, but he's a good person all around," Macao assured the woman, glaring at Gajeel in the process. The Iron Dragon Slayer shrugged his shoulders simply and crossed his arms over his chest.

"And you?" Layla inquired as she looked at Natsu. "Can I trust you to bring my daughter back?"

The pink haired slave looked at the Queen closely and let out a heavy breath. He knew Macao would probably punch him for what he was going to say, but he really didn't care. The fact of the matter was that Layla needed to hear exactly what he thought. Natsu stood up tall and licked his lips.

"With all due respect, your highness, can I trust that you will never put Lucy into this situation again?" he asked.

"Natsu!" Macao hissed.

"It's alright, Macao." Layla raised her hand slightly to silence him. She then sighed and moved closer to Natsu, looking into his charcoal eyes. There a genuine glow, she could see that he was a good man, someone worth trusting. In that moment, she could see why Lucy cared about him so much. He wasn't simply a slave, he was a man that didn't deserve to be killed in the arena.

"I don't believe either of you meant to hurt, Lucy, but you did. And honestly I don't think I could bring her back if you both continued to lie and manipulate her. She may be a Princess here, but you treat her like a slave." Natsu was firm as he spoke, and he could see that the Queen was more or less agreeing with what he was saying.

"You're a good man," Layla said. "Years of being a slave and you speak with more reason than any politician or king I have ever met."

Natsu was surprised by her words, he expected her to scold him or belittle him. To receive a compliment was very odd. "Thank you," he replied with a small bow. Layla put her hands on either side of his face and pulled him down, placing a kiss on his forehead. He was slightly confused at her actions, but did not question it aloud as she stepped away from him.

"My daughter is lucky to have met you," Layla told him, and Natsu smiled weakly.

"Your highness!" Jellal called out as he and Gray came riding up the road on their horses. When they pulled them to a stop, they both dismounted. "We searched all over, she is no longer in the city."

Layla looked distraught by those words.

"There was a merchant though who said he saw a rider on one of the royal horses leaving just before sundown," Gray added in.

"Where could she be going?" Layla asked, not truly expecting an answer.

"Your country house," Natsu answered. "It must be an hour's ride from here." He shrugged his shoulder and looked at the Queen. She nodded in agreement and looked at Macao.

"You have my permission to let them go after my daughter," Layla said to Macao, and he nodded looking to Natsu and Gajeel. They both bowed to the Queen and started walking down the dark streets of the city.

"Wait, you're going to let them go after her?" Gray questioned, not liking the idea of his friend's life being in the hands of slaves. He knew that neither of them would hurt Lucy, but he also figured they had no reason to find her and bring her back. They could have their freedom, nothing was tying them to this place. "Don't you think they'll run off and never return?"

"No, they'll come back," Macao assured Gray.

"How can you be so sure?" Jellal pressed, watching as Natsu and Gajeel started shrinking in the distance.

"They have nowhere else to go," Layla answered, look to the two city guards. "They'll come back, for now we wait."

"How long do you intend to wait?" Jellal inquired as the queen started heading back into the arena.

"Three days." Layla held up three fingers and continued on into the arena. She wasn't quite ready to go home, and she wouldn't go back with Lucy at her side. They both had many amends to make for their daughter.

* * *

**-xOx-**

* * *

Lucy pulled the sorrel horse to a halt and gazed at the beautiful summer home her family owned. It was a simple building, but it held so many memories—not that any of them were real. The house was made of a dark gray brick with large white pillars reaching from the ground to the roof. There were beautiful white colored shutters around all the windows, a lavish green lawn, and window floral boxes that were overflowing with yellow, pink, and white daisies. She clicked her tongue, causing the horse to travel up the dirt road towards the house. Huge knotty sycamore trees lined the road side that were overgrown with moss.

When she reached the house, she pulled her horse to a halt again and dismounted. She tied him to a wooden railing just below the porch and walked over to the steps. With the skirt of her dress lifted, Lucy started up the front porch steps. They creaked under her weight, to her knowledge no one had come to the vacation house in years aside from the caretakers. Her eyes drifted over to the white wooden swing on the front porch and walked over to it. When she was little, she and her mother would sit outside and listened to Lyra, one of their servants, play on her harp and sing.

She walked around to the back, following the porch that wrapped around the whole house. Lucy stopped at the stairs that led up to the second floor. Looking up the stairs, Lucy decided to go up. When she got to the top, a smile found its way onto her lips. The view was amazing, she could see for miles. She rested her arms on the railing and stared back in the direction of Magnolia. Lucy wondered what she was going to do. Next year at this time she would be forced to marry the Prince of Crocus. It was worse than that though, Lucy left Crocus early to avoid the Prince, who was now the King since his father died six months ago. His coronation had taken place the day that Lucy and Erza left. Word would spread quickly, she was sure the news would come to her parents in the next few days.

The blonde let her head fall between her shoulders and shook her head. She felt like she was being suffocated and all she wanted to do was breathe. Sometimes she wished she could just cast off her duties as a Princess of Magnolia and see the world. She felt so trapped within the walls of that house, especially with her father. While he might have not had the best relationship with his daughter, he always required her to be a part of meetings and social gatherings. And she hated every minute of it, but like a good girl she put a smile on and dealt with it. To find out her parents had lied to her about parts of her childhood made things even worse. She felt as though she couldn't trust them anymore. That was very hard for her, because she loved her mother and felt so betrayed.

Lucy left the second floor balcony and ventured to the back portion of her parents property. She stopped at the back corner of the porch and rested her head against the white wood pillar. There before her was the swing that she always played on as a little girl. It was also the starting point of the friendship she made with Natsu, unfortunately she couldn't remember it. Lucy began to wonder if there was a way to get her original memories back. Pushing away from the pillar, Lucy walked down the back steps of the porch and approached the swing. She kicked off her shoes and climbed up onto the swing.

Rocking back and forth, Lucy slowly got the swing to move. "Would you like a push?"

Lucy gasped and nearly fell from the swing, but caught herself. "Natsu!" she squeaked as he walked from around the tree. "How did you find me?"

"We're Dragon Slayers, Blondie, it's not that hard." Gajeel came up from behind her and crossed his arms over his chest. She stared at him, not so much from the fact that he was there, but because he called her 'Blondie'. Normally Gajeel didn't say a word to her, and they had met on several occasions.

"Why are you both here?" she asked, looking away from Gajeel to Natsu. They were both shadowed by the tree since the light of the sun had completely faded away with only the silver light of the moon to keep them company. "You're both injured, shouldn't you be resting?" Lucy stepped down from the swing.

"You're mother sent us, so let's get going." Gajeel waved for her to come along, but Lucy refused. He blinked several times and huffed, looking to Natsu. "Alright, we'll just leave in the morning then, meaning you do whatever you have to get her to go, otherwise I'll use force." He snorted before walking up the front porch, leaving Natsu and Lucy alone by the swing.

"Is he always that pleasant?" Lucy asked with an eye roll.

"Don't worry about him," Natsu waved it off. "Are you okay?"

Lucy sat down on the swing. "No," she shook her head, grabbing hold of the ropes. "Not really."

Natsu leaned back against the tree and put his hands behind his head. His eyes gazed up through the holes of the tree branches, watching the twinkling stars. Many times he had slept under the summer night sky and listened to the crickets chirp. This time around though it was far more pleasant with a beautiful woman at his side rather than a slaver.

"I don't think your parents meant to hurt you," Natsu said, looking down to Lucy. She looked back at him and snorted. "They did it because they love you."

"They lied to me," Lucy stated, throwing her hands up in the air. "About you, about Loke, about this arranged marriage to this asshole in Crocus, and you call that love?" She stood up from the swing and began pacing around, while Natsu watched her. Running her fingers through her hair, Lucy leaned against the tree beside him.

"Okay, let me rephrase that," Natsu said with a soft smile. "They did it out of love."

"That doesn't make it right!" Lucy hissed, pushing away from the tree and tromping around like an angry baby dinosaur. In a way, Natsu found it a little adorable, though Lucy probably didn't think so. He understood her annoyance and anger, but he also wished she would loosen up. "I mean how could they do this to me? I'm their fucking daughter!"

"Strong language, Princess," Natsu said with a chuckle, but Lucy glared at him. He fell silent and walked over to her. Grabbing hold of her shoulders, Natsu stopped her from her little rampage and looked right into her eyes. "Come with me."

"Where are we going?" Lucy asked.

Natsu moved closer to her, his hot breath tickled her neck. One hand slowly moved up her shoulder and to her neck, causing her head to tilt slightly while his other hand moved down her arm and to her hand. It was electrifying and sensational, her skin was covered in goose bumps and her heart was racing.

"Just come with me," he whispered huskily into her ear. If it was humanly possible her body to melt into a puddle, she would have. When he pulled back, he smiled at her and gently brushed her hair behind her ear.

"Okay," Lucy agreed, lacing her silky lithe fingers through his calloused ones.


	13. Warmth

**Author's Note: **Hey everyone! I was just so elated to see how many comments I received on this last chapter. I'm so grateful to all of you for supporting me, seriously it's so awesome! I really hope you all enjoy this next chapter, I tried my best to describe things and let me tell ya this is only the beginning of Nalu in this story, we're gonna get much more heated! Also 108 comments! AHHHH! That's insane! Maybe we can hit 120 for the next chapter? My fingers are crossed, lots of love guys!

**Special Thanks: **Mr. CR, Xayase, Stinger 10, AWK and The Akatsugirls, PandaPiggy, Lucinda, IggyKneel, Luna3300, dreamer, DatAnonymousGal, lalapie203, MissMe2306, OmegaSage037, and XxDrAGonSLaYerXXx! You guys were so sweet with your comments, thanks so much for the feedback, it's appreciated greatly!

**Warnings: **AU. Sexual Content. Cursing. Violence.

* * *

**Warmth**

The stars glittered in the sky like a million diamonds on a black silk dress. It was glamorous and absolutely romantic—breathtaking even—unlike anything Lucy had ever seen. She had forgotten how beautiful nature could be when stripped down to its core. The night was so still, but it was calming and silencing. If anyone spoke it would probably be so loud it would disturb everything. All around them were luxurious stonewalls covered in a flowering vine, the walls held lion head spigots where water flowed from their mouths and into a small canal that fed into a man-made pond.

Tall weeping willows surrounds the area, their vines were like curtains around their trunks, creating perfect privacy. As they walked past them, Lucy stuck out her hand, gently running her hands across the wall of vines. The smooth leaves tickled her skin, causing her to giggle lightly. They came to a small stone platform that overlooked the garden of the Heartfilia summer house. A smile tugged at the corners of Lucy's mouth, and she wrapped her arms around Natsu's. He glanced down at her and smiled as well taking in the silver glow of the garden. When Natsu felt Lucy rested her head against his muscled arm, his heart skipped a beat.

"A long time ago this garden was filled with sunflowers," Natsu told her, and she looked up at him. "We used to run through them, playing hide and seek. It was so much fun, we'd play from dawn until dusk."

"Do you think there's a way for me to get my real memories back?" Lucy let go of Natsu's arm and started walking towards the pond. "There's so much I wish I could remember." She hugged herself, and Natsu walked up beside her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

When she looked into his eyes, he smiled at her. "You never know until you try, right?"

Lucy giggled lightly and agreed with him. Her brown eyes ventured to the small stone platforms that crossed from the length and width of the pond, creating a cross shape. She lifted her skirt and stepped onto one of the stone platforms. "This place is gorgeous," Lucy said, turning back to Natsu. "Maybe I'll just live here instead of with those lying jerks who claim to be my family and love me."

Natsu followed Lucy out into the middle of the pond. "What about Loke? And your redheaded friend? And that city guard guy?" Lucy stood on one side of the platform and Natsu stood on the other. She sighed softly and crouched down at the edge, curling her legs under her small frame. "Friends are a way to make up for family."

Lucy chuckled. "Do you remember your family, Natsu?" She stuck her hand into the cool water and swished it around, causing dozens of ripples.

"Very little," Natsu answered honestly and even sounded sad about it. Lucy frowned and looked over to him as he stood across from her, looking across the pond. "But what I do remember is that they loved me and they were strong." His charcoal eyes met Lucy's brown ones, and he smiled weakly.

Natsu turned his back to Lucy and crossed his arms behind his back. His eyes ventured up to the twinkling stars, and he got an idea. The night was perfect for a little swim, so he glanced over his shoulder. Lucy was mesmerized by the water, not even aware that he was sneaking glances at her. His lips formed a tight line, trying to keep his laughs under control. Lucy would probably scream and shout, but it would probably be good for her to have some fun. Quietly, Natsu slipped off his black waist coat and let it fall to the ground. He spun on the balls of his feet and walked over to Lucy, causing a shadow to loom over her.

"What are—AH!" Lucy squealed when Natsu playfully pushed her into the water. Seconds later Lucy resurfaced and stood onto her feet, the water reaching just below her breast. "Natsu!" she shouted, shaking her fist at him.

The pink haired slave only laughed, hugging his sides as Lucy waded in the water. She put her hands on her hips and shook her head in annoyance. "Oh come on," Natsu cackled, kneeling down at the edge of the platform. "It was a little funny." He gestured with his thumb and forefinger, but Lucy merely responded by splashed him.

Natsu turned away from her when she splashed him. His hair fell into his face and water slowly rolled down the muscles of his toned chest and abs. Lucy giggled as Natsu wiped the water from his face and shook his hair free of the access water like a dog. "That was a little funny, don't you think?" Lucy asked smugly.

"Princess," Natsu began, catching her eyes. "I hope you know how to swim." Lucy brows furrowed together, and Natsu jumped into the water. He was beneath the surface, and she couldn't figure out where he went since it was so dark. She looked all around for any disturbance in the water, but found nothing.

Lucy didn't dare move from her spot. "You'll have to come for air sometime!" The blonde hollered as she looked for Natsu.

From behind the water broke, but Lucy wasn't able to turn around fast enough. She yelped when Natsu's strong, warm hands pressed onto her shoulders and dunked her beneath the water. He laughed loudly and let Lucy come back up for air a few moments later. When the Princess surfaced she wiped the water from her face and glared at Natsu. She jumped up, pushing his head down below the water with all her might. When he went down, Lucy felt him grab hold of her legs and tug her down at well.

They both surfaced and began splashing at each other. Lucy tried to swim away from him, but Natsu grabbed a hold of her waist with such ease and spun her around. She laughed and squealed, kicking her feet to break free. His grip on her was strong though, and it was in that moment Lucy became aware she was pressed against his washboard abs.

She could feel his power, she could sense his strength, but she could also feel his warmth. He may have been a head taller than her, he might have been able to easily overpower her, but he didn't. Lucy smiled and stopped struggling and relaxed against him. Her eyes closed, and Natsu loosened his hold. His hands ventured to the base of her neck and carefully brushed her hair behind her shoulder. A tingle washed through her body, causing every nerve in her body go haywire. She had never felt like that when a man touched her. It was enough to shatter her bones, and she could feel every bit of herself craving more of his touch.

Natsu's finger tips brushed down her spine, causing her to arch. She let out a breath of desire and turned around in his hold. Her eyes slowly fluttered open, and she bit her lip when Natsu's hands moved down to her hip, pulling her against his rock hard body. He lower his head against hers, his warm breath brushed across the plains of her porcelain cheeks. Her toes curled, her heart was racing, and her breathing was shallow. Natsu slowly lowered himself downward, his hands reaching the back of Lucy's thighs. With such ease, Natsu lifted her up, and she instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist.

Her hands snaked around his neck, resting on his muscled shoulders. She closed her eyes when the tips of their noses gently brushed against each other. Her body wanted him, she just wanted to soak him all in. He was so handsome and strong, he felt so warm, and his scent was infused in her nostrils. It was a clean smell, fresh, and it made her insides twist and turn like a snake. Natsu's lips were mere centimeters from her own, their breaths mixing together. She was so tempted to close the gap between them, but she wanted him to do it.

As if he could hear her thoughts, Natsu closed the gap and captured her lips in a powerful, but gentle kiss that had her melting. He tasted so delicious, she deepened the kiss, wanting more of him. Her back arched, causing her chest to press against his chest. A fire burned inside of Lucy, and her hands raked through Natsu's pink hair. He growled at her tugs and squeezed her thighs. He took several steps back and was pressed against the stone platform. His lips never left Lucy's and when her mouth parted slightly, he pushed his tongue into her mouth. He wasn't forceful, but considerate of what she was okay with.

Lucy always thought a kiss would be black and white, but with Natsu it was filled with shades of grey. Her heart was pounding so hard against her chest, but she didn't want to stop. Her hands slowly ventured down to his chest, and she smiled against the kiss feeling every indention of his muscles. She slowly pulled away from him, both of them completely breathless.

Lucy unwrapped her legs from Natsu's waist and felt the mushy ground of the bottom of her pond. She looked up at him, and he gently brushed his knuckles against her cheek. Her face turned towards his touch, and Natsu carefully turned his hand so that her cheek was in his palm. When her eyes closed, Natsu moved her face to towards his own and leaned down. Their lips pressed against each other again. His arm snaked around Lucy's body, and he pulled her against him, causing her hands to rest on the smooth plains of his chest.

"Lucy!" Erza's voice rang out through the garden.

The two quickly pulled apart and stared at each other for a moment. "That's Erza."

"Guess they didn't trust me," Natsu murmured with an eye roll.

Lucy stifled a laugh and cupped his face in her hands. She pulled him forward with more force than he thought she was capable of. Natsu took a stumbled step forward and put his hands on her waist. She kissed him hard, messy, and unpracticed, but every bit of her desire to have him against her was noted. Natsu couldn't help himself, Lucy was absolutely sensational and if he could have it his way, he'd never let her go.

"Let's go," Lucy said, and let Natsu go. She backed away, climbed up onto the stone platform, Natsu watching her closely. Her wet dress clung to every curve of her body, and Natsu could feel his blood pumping.

"Lucy! Where are you?" Erza hollered from the edge of the pond.

"I'm here, Erza!" Lucy called, waving to her redheaded friend. Natsu climbed out of the pond and reached for his coat he'd taken off before getting into the water. He drapped it over Lucy's body, and she smiled. "Thanks."

"What in the world were you doing?" Erza asked as she jumped from platform to platform.

"Just…uh, you know, taking a little…swim," Lucy explained with a light laugh, but Erza raised brow not seeming to believe it at all. "Natsu thought I needed to have some fun." She shrugged her shoulders.

"Yeah…fun," Erza agreed, eyeing Natsu, who smirked at her. "Levy, Gray, Jellal, and I decided that as your friends we should come get you."

"I don't want to leave yet," Lucy explained with a shake of her head. "I need to get my head together."

"I knew you would say that," Erza replied with a genuine smile. "That's why we brought the key to the house and some fresh clothes for you."

Lucy stared at her friend in surprise. "Thank you, Erza, you're the best." The blonde moved forward and hugged her friend tightly, getting her clothes damp. "Sorry," Lucy chuckled as they parted and Erza shook her head.

"Don't worry about it," Erza said. "Now let's get you both dried off and we can eat too." She waved for them to follow her and started crossing the pond.

"Do you think she knows?" Lucy asked, turning to look up to Natsu.

"Oh yes," Natsu replied with a nod.

"I figured," Lucy giggled, and bumped her hand against his. Natsu smiled at her and took hold of her hand, lacing their fingers together. "Are you hungry?" she asked as they began walking across the pond.

"Starving," Natsu stated with a beaming grin.

"Well, we'll give you a royal feast," Lucy assured him with a wink, pulling him along and through the garden. When they got back onto the main path leading up to the house, they could see everyone was sitting on the porch. "Maybe staying here for a day or two will be good for everyone." She looked up at Natsu, and he nodded in agreement put an arm around her shoulder, leading her to the house.


	14. Gajeel

**Author's Note: **Hey guys! I'm so glad that you all enjoyed the last chapter! It brought a smile to my face reading all those lovely comments. And unfortunately there isn't any Nalu in this chapter, for it was time to introduce one of our other couples into the story. But next chapter we'll have Nalu, so don't you worry! And also I'm thrilled to have received 122 comments! I did a happy dance, seriously. Before long we'll be in the 200s...but for now let's try to get 130 plus! I know you guys can help me get there! Next chapter will be up when we get into the 130s.

**Special Thanks: **lalapie203, JustInLoveWithFairyTail, DatAnonymousGal, 12Redsky34, AWK and The Akatsugirls, OmegaSage037, PandaPiggy, xXLittlemIssyXx, dreamer, Nalu123, Guest, Lucinda, XxDrAGonSLaYerXXx, and OPFAN! I hope you all enjoy this chapter as well! Thanks so much for your support!

**Warnings: **AU. Sexual Content. Cursing. Violence.

* * *

**Gajeel**

Gajeel yawned as he laid on the grassy front lawn under the shade of a sycamore tree. It wasn't everyday he got to come outside and enjoy it. If he was back at the arena, Macao would have him running laps, lifting weights, or sparring with some mediocre fighter. According to Erza, they were allowed five days and four night to stay at the summer house. If they didn't return by the fifth day though they would be flogged, only Natsu and Gajeel that is. He didn't mind staying for a few days, he could come up with a few good reasons to stick around. His red eyes drifted over to the dining room window that extended from floor to ceiling. Behind the crystal clear glass was Levy McGarden, setting the table for lunch.

The previous night had been a good one, he never had such a delicious meal or such good tasting wine. And when in the company of a beautiful woman, it tasted even better. He closed his eyes again and began to drift off, he was going to take full advantage of this little vacation he had been gifted with. Not like he wasn't the only one enjoying this, Erza and Jellal had been messing around in the kitchen, they had even gotten into a little food fight last night. Then there was Natsu, who seemed to have made a new frenemy in Gray Fullbuster. To Gajeel's knowledge they were down at the stable having a little sword fight with Lucy as their witness.

"Thirsty?" Levy's soft voice filled his ears. His eyes opened and he turned his head to see the blue haired petite holding a glass of water appeared to be freshly made lemonade. She smiled down at him as sat down cross legged, holding the glass out to him as he sat up. Gajeel took the glass from Levy and stared at it with intrigue for a moment. "It's not poisoned," she giggled, and Gajeel snickered.

He brought the glass up to his lips and took a long drink. It was far better tasting that he expected, it was sweet with a hint of tartness and as it rolled down his throat. The lemonade was delicious and very refreshing, he was more than ready for that nap. He finished the rest of the drink and handed the empty glass back to Levy, who laughed lightly.

"Was it good?" she asked him with a smile, putting the glass down on the ground. Gajeel looked at her for a moment and nodded once. Levy played with the skirt of her orange dress and then tightened the matching ribbon in her hair. "Erza and Jellal said that lunch would be ready soon. You must be enjoying, huh?" Levy asked him.

Gajeel only grunted in reply, but Levy was used to his caveman ways. He had never been one to talk, always keeping quiet and observing everything. It's what made him such a good fighter, he was receptive and learned quickly. Macao always talked highly of Gajeel, claiming he was a born fighter. Gajeel had been an orphan his entire life, but he wasn't always a slave. To Levy's knowledge Gajeel was once a personal bodyguard for a nobleman in Magnolia. He served that nobleman for nearly six years, but then the nobleman turned on Gajeel and had him arrested for false accusations.

"Gajeel," Levy began and he opened his eyes, turning to look at her. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, Shrimp," Gajeel answered, closing his eyes and resting his head on his hands.

"What really happened? Why did that nobleman falsely accuse you?" she asked, pulling her legs into her chest. She rested her chin on her knees and looked at the giant lying beside her. When his eyes came open, Levy could see the mix of disappointment and anger. Those emotions swirled in his eyes for a moment before he rolled onto his side and looked at Levy. She began to think she should have just kept quiet about it all, but her curiosity got the best of her. "I'm sorry, it's really none of my business." She shook her head and looked away from Gajeel, feeling a bit embarrassed. Her cheeks flushed, and her ears felt hot as Gajeel's eyes remained on her.

Gajeel shook his head after a few moments of silence. "Its fine," he answered gruffly. "The short version is, one of his other bodyguards had tried to rape his daughter. Actually, he didn't just try he succeeded. My master had come in just after I had stopped the other man, he believed me to be an accomplice and had me arrested for such. He killed the other man, I guess I got a better deal. At least some days I believe I did." Gajeel looked at Levy when he finished speaking and shrugged his shoulders.

"Didn't his daughter defend you?" Levy asked with a frown.

Gajeel shook his head. "She was drugged, she could barely move." He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"That's terrible," Levy murmured. "How old was she?"

"Fourteen," Gajeel answered, and Levy's eyes widened in shock. "She'd be twenty now, all grown up." He smiled weakly and laid back down.

"Have you seen her since then?" Levy tilted her head and smiled at him. She could see that underneath the piercing, muscles, and scars Gajeel was a gentle person. Most people probably only saw those demonic red eyes and sharp fangs. On many counts, Gajeel could have easily hurt Levy in order to escape, but he never did. She would have been such an easy target when she was left alone with him, but he showed her respect.

"Once," Gajeel replied with a nod. "She came to the arena last spring, she came to see me. She thanked me and apologized."

"Apologized?" Levy repeated in surprise.

Gajeel nodded his head. "She said she didn't believe I was involved," he paused and swallowed hard, "she said that the other man was alone and when I came in, it all stopped." He let out a heavy breath and remembered everything. He was seventeen years old at the time, he ran into the room when he heard her crying. When he came in, the young woman was tied up, completely naked and the other body guard was raping her until she bled. It was the most disgusting thing he had ever witnessed.

"Did that make you feel better?" Levy asked him.

"I felt better when I pulled that sick bastard off of her," Gajeel replied, turning to look into Levy's eyes. "That pig deserved to be killed, every piece of flesh should have been ripped from his bones. She was just a little girl, that sick fuck…he got exactly what he deserved." His fist were clenched tightly and the veins in his neck were bulging.

"You're a good man, Gajeel," Levy said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

He stared at Levy for a moment and smiled softly, placing his hand on hers. It was so warm and far larger than her own. Even though Gajeel was practically a giant, Levy wasn't afraid of him at all. Truth be told, Levy actually really liked him and enjoyed his company.

"Hey you two," Erza walked out onto the porch with an apron wrapped around her waist. "Lunch is ready, come and eat!" She waved for them to come along and wandered back into the large mansion.

"I'll go get the others, you go in," Levy said with a smile as she jumped up onto her feet and jogged over to the stables, where Natsu, Lucy, and Gray were hanging out. Gajeel watched her go for a few seconds before getting up himself. He dusted himself off and walked up the porch steps.

Upon entering the mansion, Gajeel stopped when he saw Jellal standing in the middle of the hallway that lead to the front entrance of the mansion. The entire mansion was lavish and grand, it was by far one of the nicest houses Gajeel had ever been in, not that that said much since he normally lived in shack or cells. There was a fine oriental rug that stretched down the length of the hallway. The walls were a cream color that almost seemed like a sheer gold. Long draperies frame all the windows, but were pulled back to let in the natural lighting.

"So why haven't you tried to leave?" Jellal asked, leaning up against the carved archway that lead into the dining area. "You could have left during the night, but you stayed? Care to explain."

"No," Gajeel retorted and continued into the dining area. He could feel Jellal's eyes on him, but he ignored him. The Guard Captain was not as intimidating as he thought he was, Gajeel wanted to push him over when he passed by, but he controlled himself.

Jellal walked towards the table, standing across from where Gajeel had sat down. "There must be a reason that you're staying."

Gajeel rolled his eyes. "Okay Captain," he was tired of the scrutiny, all night long all Jellal did was stare at Gajeel and Natsu like they were wild animals, and he was going to set the record straight. "Let's switch roles here for a moment, shall we?"

Jellal pulled out a chair and sat, resting his arms on the table.

"I've been a slave all my life, freedom is desired don't get me wrong. Look at me though, I'm a monster made for the arena," Gajeel gestured to the scars on his arms and the piercings on his face. "So what good will running away do? Only to earn a flogging upon my capture and return. I might be Macao's favorite fighter, but King Heartfilia would force his hand."

Jellal looked away from Gajeel and felt slightly guilty for scrutinizing him. "You don't seem to be a hardened criminal."

"Most slaves aren't," Gajeel snorted. "But how would you know? You've had it made your whole life just pointing your finger and barking orders."

Jellal remained silent and stood from his seat. "Fair enough, slave." He pushed the chair back under the table and left the room just as Erza was entering with a tray full of sandwiches and cheese. She called to him, but he kept going not even slowing down to look back. Frowning, Erza looked back at Gajeel, who merely shrugged his shoulders.

"What did you say to him?" Erza asked as she put the trays down on the table.

"Nothing," Gajeel curtly replied, grabbing a small half cut sandwich off the try. The redhead didn't believe him, but she didn't feel like trying to pry. Jellal would be easier to talk to than Gajeel. With a sigh, Erza left the dining room to get the last two trays of food which contained fruit cups and her favorite chocolate éclairs.

Moments later everyone with the exception of Jellal had entered the dining room. They were all laughing and joking around with each other—not Natsu and Gray though, they were truly arguing. Levy smiled when she saw Gajeel and went to take a seat beside him.

"After lunch we were planning on going for a swim down at the river," Levy told him as she reached for a fruit cup. "Do you want to join us?" She tossed a peach slice into her mouth and chewed.

"A swim?" he repated, and Levy nodded. "With those two idiots." He pointed to Natsu and Gray, who were bickering with each other like two year olds.

"It could be fun," Levy giggled, and Gajeel snorted.

"Yeah, lots of fun," he said with a shake of his head.


	15. Water

**Author's Note: **Hello there Lovelies! So sorry for the wait, I meant to post this yesterday, unfortunately I had a baby shower to attend to and that took up most of my time. But I am so ecstatic that I received 137 reviews! When I saw that this morning, I was dancing around my room like an idiot. I should also inform you guys that I will be going on vacation this week. This is my last week of vacation before school starts up again, so I'm going camping...meaning no internet for four days and three nights...almost doesn't sound like a vacation anymore haha! So you're probably not going to see another update until Friday...and you'll hate me more after you finish reading this chapter. Please forgive me though! Also, I apologize in advance for spelling/grammar and any other typos. I never proofread things, I just update haha! I can't wait to see what you all have to say about this chapter! See you guys again in the next chapter!

**Special** **Thanks: **DatAnonymousGal, OmegaSage037, TheBlueRose245, XxDrAGonSLaYerXXx, Xayase, Lucinda, Nalu123, AWK and The Akatsugirls, 12Redsky34, Guest 1, dreamer, Punkerjj27, Guest 2, and lalapie203! Much love you guys! Thanks so much for your wonderful feedback!

**Warnings: **AU. Sexual Content. Cursing. Violence.

* * *

**Water**

There was a rope tied to a tree branch that hung over the river. The sun was shining brightly in the sky, spreading its warmth over the Heartfilia vacation home. A gentle breeze blew through the air, keeping those who relaxed on the riverside nice and cool. A little ways down from the tree and rope was a small wooden dock. It was a little rickety looking and it's color had faded from years of being in the sun. At the edge of the dock, Lucy had her feet dangling a few inches above the water.

She laughed lightly as Gray and Natsu wrestled in the water. They were both determined to outdo the other in just about everything. First it was merely just a horse race around the pasture, which then turned into a sword fight to an eating contest to a race to the river, and finally a who could hold their breath the longest. In a way it was almost amusing, but Lucy was becoming concerned that their antics might get one of them hurt or sick. Her brown eyes drifted over to the river bank where Gajeel and Levy were sitting. She smiled happily, they were such an odd pair, but somehow Lucy had a feeling they were what the other needed.

"I win!" Natsu exclaimed when he resurfaced from the water just a second after Gray.

"No way! It was a tie!" Gray growled, clenching his fist and staring darkly at Natsu. It had turned into a staring match, neither one blinking, nor moving. Lucy was finding it hard not to laugh at them.

"Come on you two, we're supposed to be having fun," Lucy said, standing up from her spot on the dock. Neither one of them reacted though, they continued to glare at each other. The blonde rolled her eyes and decided to try a different approach. Untying the wrap around her curvy hips, Lucy dived into the water and swam towards Natsu and Gray. She came up slowly behind Natsu and gently ran her hand up his spine. His body stiffened, but he still kept glaring at Gray, trying his best to ignore her. "Natsu?" She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, running her hand over his toned chest. He shivered at her touch, causing Lucy to chuckle.

Gray's eyes slowly drifted towards Lucy's hands as the moved over Natsu's body. He wasn't jealous, he was shocked. The previous night he suspected something was going between them, but the way her hands rubbed his muscles it confirmed everything he had assumed. He could tell by how Natsu was suddenly holding his breath that Lucy's touch was rattling him.

"Don't you wanna stop messing around with Gray?" the Princess whispered into his ear, her breath flowing over his strong neck and handsome jawline. "And swim around with me?" Her hands moved along his ribs, gently squeezing his sides and moving towards his powerful hip bones that sexily cut his body in such a tasteful manner.

Natsu wasn't going to be able to resist her much longer.

Lucy glanced to Gray, who's mouth and slowly fallen open. She smirked at him, and he shook his head. "Okay, enough!" Gray caved in, he couldn't bear watching Lucy-practically his sister-touching a man in such a sexual manner. "I'm getting out now." He waded over to the dock and climbed out, leaving Natsu and Levy alone-or at least out of earshot from the others.

Natsu whirled around and grabbed Lucy's wrist and pinned them behind her back. She gasped and stared into Natsu's eyes, which were flared with desire and intrigue. Her smooth curves of her breast and hips were pressed against his stone hard body. The water created such a sensual atmosphere, but unfortunately they weren't alone. Lucy bit her lip, causing them to become redder and plumper-more kissable-Natsu slowly leaned forward.

Their warm breaths mixed together, and Lucy's eyes began to close. Her cheeks flushed a pale rosey pink, and her heart was fluttering in her chest. The memories of the night before played back in her mind, driving her wild. With his free hand, Natsu stroked Lucy thigh, causing her to squirm a bit. He stifled a laugh and turned her around, pressing her backside against his front. Natsu had let go of her wrist and ran his hands up her thighs. Lucy let out a sultry sigh and melted against Natsu.

He lowered his head towards the bend of her neck and shoulder. Lucy let her head fall back, her chocolate brown eyes still closed. She heard him inhale deeply, taking in her sweet scent of milk and honey. Her stomach tightened in response, and her hands gripped the material of Natsu's shorts. He opened his mouth, his teeth grazing against her supple skin, nipping every few moments. Just when Lucy thought he was finally going to kiss her, his tongue gently licked up towards her ear. Shivers shot up and down her spine, her body was completely electrified.

On instinct, Lucy reached up and behind her, running her fingers through Natsu's hair. His hands come onto her hips and squeezed them as he pulled her closer to him. Lucy's eyes opened when she felt Natsu's erection pressed against her ass. He wanted her to know how badly he wanted her, he wanted her to feel it. His hands reached for hers and brought them up to her flat stomach, splaying them against her creamy skin. Lucy turned in his hold and drapes her arms over his shoulders. She smiled at him, and he smiled back, reaching for her ass. He squeezed tightly and swiftly lifted her up against him, where his mouth almost fell onto hers. She wanted him to devour her mouth, kiss her like she was the only girl in his world.

"Do you realize what we're getting into?" he asked hoarsely, nuzzling his nose against hers. "Do you, Lucy?"

He was driving her completely insane! She couldn't even answer him because she had her in such a frenzy. Nothing else was mattering to her except her female parts wanting him. Lucy ran her fingers over his chest, up his neck, and through his hair.

"Yes." Her heart is pounding so hard, she could hear the blood pulsing in her ears. Natsu smirked and let Lucy back down. She pushed up onto her tiptoes and pressed her lips onto his. His arms snaked around her small frame and held her close to him tightly.

"Hey!" Gajeel barked from the shore, causing the two to break apart and look over at him. "Keep it clean!"

"Lucy," Natsu whispered, and she looked to him. "This might be okay now, but things will change."

She frowned at his words and reached for his face, gently stroking his cheek with her thumb. "I have never felt more alive than since I have met you." She gave him a soft smile, and gave him a warm hug.

He hugged her back. A strange feeling waved through Natsu, and he quickly scooped Lucy up. She yelped and was about to ask what he was doing, but never got the chance. A huge wave came barreling down the river, destroying everything in its path. Natsu had managed to get them to shore just as the wave gobbled up the old wooden dock and ripped it apart.

"What the hell was that?" Lucy asked as Natsu as he gently placed her down, but protectively kept her at his side. "Magic?" she wondered aloud, looking up at Natsu.

He remained silent, his dark eyes scanning the area closely. Sniffing the air, Natsu picked up the scent of several people that he didn't recognize. His brows knitted together as he tried to figure out who was approaching. It wasn't anyone from the arena, so as far as Natsu was concerned it was an enemy.

"There's more than one," Natsu told Lucy, stepping forward and facing downstream from the origin of the wave. He clenched his fist and flames spiraled around them. "Be careful."

Lucy nodded once assuring Natsu she'd be careful. Her eyes drifted over to Levy and Gajeel, who were standing as well and facing the forest on the other side of the river. The blue haired girl was hiding behind Gajeel, whose arm had transformed into a jagged blade. It seemed that he too had picked up whatever Natsu had, which made Lucy nervous. She began to think maybe her father found out that they had come out here, and he was coming for them. Her hands reached for Natsu's arm and was surprised when she felt the heat of his flames, but they didn't burn her skin.

"There's five," Natsu commented. "No..." he sniffed the air and shook his head, unable to determine how many there were. A roaring sound filled his ears and his eyes widened when another powerful wave came towards them. The flames of his hands vanished and he whirled around to grab Lucy and pull her from the wave that would have surely swallowed them.

Natsu scooped Lucy up and jumped up into a tree, placing her down on the branch. The water came halfway up the tree. Debris floated about, and the water slowly started to lower. The ground was still damp and sloshy, making it difficult to walk on. Natsu had jump back down onto the ground, leaving Lucy up in the tree. She turned around and saw that Gajeel had Levy slung over his shoulder. He jumped up into the tree and landed on the same branch, putting Levy down gently.

"Levy," Lucy gasped as she moved over to the blue haired girl. She was still awake, but was soaking wet and coughing up water. Gajeel stood up and jumped down onto the ground beside Natsu.

"How many are you picking up?" Gajeel asked with a low growl.

"At least five," Natsu answered, his flames spiraling around his fist.

* * *

**-xOx-**

* * *

Gray had his towel draped over his broad shoulders as he walked back up the summer house. He was still trying to wrap his head around Natsu and Lucy. She was a Princess, he was a slave, there was no way that could ever work. In a way he felt bad for them, he hadn't seen Lucy seem that happy in a long time. As her friend, he wanted her to be happy and safe, and somehow he didn't believe being with a slave was exactly safe. He ran his fingers through his black hair and wondered what Queen Layla would think, let alone Lucy's father. After what he did to Loke, Gray wouldn't doubt that King Heartfilia would kill Natsu, slowly and painfully.

Sputtering, Gray pulled the towel over his head and jogged up the porch steps. He got to the door and pulled it open quietly and slipped inside. As he shut the door, Gray noticed that it was abnormally quiet. Erza and Jellal had never come down to the river, so he knew they had to stay up at the house. He didn't see them on his way back through the garden either, they had to be in the house. His bare feet felt sticky on the wooden floor as he padded across the hall to the kitchen. He assumed they had been cleaning up or something, but when he entered the kitchen it was empty and everything was put back into its proper place.

Gray rubbed the back of his neck and looked back at the dining room table. It had been wiped clean with only the cream lace place mats before each chair. He listened for any sort of noise, but he wasn't getting anything. Cautiously, Gray made his way to the front of the house where the stairwell was that led to the second floor. No lights were on in the house, only the natural lighting from outside poured in through the windows. In a matter of seconds, Gray was standing in the foyer of the house. His storm colored eyes glanced over to the large double doors lines with small rectangular windows. The lock was undone, but it appeared as though no one had been in the house.

Gray looked over to the reading room, but could see that no one was inside. He crossed through the threshold and looked around the room, taking in every little detail. All the walls were covered in cherry wood shelving that were littered with books, marble busts, and what appeared to be tea lights. The floor creaked under his weight with each step he took, but he paid no mind to it. He licked his lips and looked at the couches, no pillows had been disturbed or out of place. The entire house seemed to be a model home, and it was beginning to concern him. He took in a deep breath and tried to clear his thoughts. His eyes landed on the archway that led to the storage room of the house along with the entry to the basement and the two rooms for any house slaves.

"What the hell is going on?" Gray whispered to himself as he ventured through the archway. Just before he reach the end, he looked to a large wooden door that would open up to the main hall across from the dining area. He left it closed and entered the storage room, carefully descending down the two stone steps. The room was dimly lit since the windows had been boarded up in order to keep the supplies cool. There were sacks of potatoes pilled in one corner and a few barrels of wine lined against the far wall.

He looked at the wall beside him seeing glass jars filled with jams and jellies. He saw a few wicker baskets filled with old vegetables that seemed to be rotten. His nose scrunched up as he looked over to the other wall seeing rakes, pitch forks, and shovels hanging on hooks. Below the outdoor supplies were a few broken clay pots and tore bars of fertilizer. His eyes drifted to the two entry ways on the final wall directly across from him. One door contained a heavy lock on it, probably because it led to the basement. The other wasn't a door, it was merely a wooden entry way that was protected by a dirty cloth that had been nailed to the frame.

Gray took in a breath and slowly exhaled as he moved towards the cloth door. He knew that this entrance would lead him to the slave quarters. As he reached out to the cloth, Gray could feel his heart pounding. Something was wrong he could feel it in his bones, Erza and Jellal should have been at the house. Everything was so quiet and perfectly put together, it made him nervous. His hand grabbed the cloth and he yanked it back, entering the room fiercely. Unfortunately for him, no one was in the room, nor did it appear to have been in use for a long time. A curse slipped through Gray's lips and he shook his head as he walked into the room. There was a small cot tucked into the corner of the room, so small it resembled the stone cells of the arena. He looked to the window, which was the only source of light. It was barred and could not be opened.

His eyes drifted to the small arch that led to the next room. Taking in a breath, Gray went to look. Just like the first room it was empty with only a bed and small square window for light. He leaned against the wall and rubbed the back of his neck. Maybe he was just being paranoid, Erza and Jellal could have gone to the barn to go for a ride around the estate, but he still assumed he would have seen them. His gut was telling him something was definitely wrong.

The soldier decided to just go upstairs and take a look around. If he found nothing, he'd go shower and possibly take a nap afterwards. They were on vacation, there was no need for him to go looking for trouble. Gray turned on his heels and made his way back to the main hall entrance. When he pushed the door open, he stopped dead in his tracks upon seeing a girl, a young girl standing under the archway of the dining room. His eyes widened when he saw she was holding Jellal's sword and it was dripping with dark red blood, causing a small puddle on the floor.

"Who are you?" Gray growled.

Her eyes were glazed over as if she weren't even aware of what she was doing. Gray assumed she was possibly fifteen or sixteen years old. She was lithe and had long indigo hair that fell to her small hips. In a way, she almost reminded him of Levy from her small size.

"Where are my friends?" Gray asked the girl, holding his hand out to his side. In a matter of seconds an ice shape sword appeared in his hand. He gripped it tightly and got into a defense position. Truthfully, he did not want to fight her but if he had to, he would. "Not going to answer, are you?"

She dropped the blade from her hand and it clinked loudly on the floor, echoing through the halls. Gray's brows furrowed together, and he gripped the ice sword even tighter in his hands. Even though they were inside a building, Gray could feel a tug of air brushing over his bare skin. When his eyes went back to the girl before him, he noticed she was about to use magic. Before Gray had any time to think, the girl unleashed what felt like a whirlwind at him. The wind cut at his skin, and he was slammed up against the wall, causing his vision to blur. In a matter of seconds his world went black.


	16. Blood

**Author's Note: **Hey there guys! I'm back and I had a nice little break, gave me some time to figure out where this story will be heading. I hope that you all enjoy this chapter, and I apologize for any mistakes or typos, as I have said before I don't edit even though I should. Also I have a question for you guys, whilst on my little vacation, I got a story idea for Levy and Gajeel...would anyone be interested in a Gajeel and Levy romance/drama story? Let me know in a review! Please enjoy this chapter and I'm glad to be back! 154 comments, let's see if we can get 170! Go my awesome readers and commenters go!

**Special** **Thanks: **12Redsky34. ChittiD, Xayase, XxDrAGonSLaYerXXx, Anonymous, Celtika82, DatAnonymousGal, kiraito, dreamer, AWK and The Akatsugirls, TomatoDeer, iamthewerepire, and J Luc Pitard! I appreciate your feedback, it encourages me to keep going.

**Warnings: **AU. Sexual Content. Cursing. Violence.

* * *

**Blood**

Natsu grappled at one of the armored men. He jerked his spear from his gantlet covered hand and stabbed him through his neck. The soldier gasped the long handle of the spear and slumped down onto his knees. Natsu kicked him over and cried out in pain when a soldier sliced at his ribs. Thankfully it was merely a flesh wound, but it still hurt. Summoning flames to his hands, Natsu grabbed the blade and raised the temperature of his fire. The blade turned red, and Natsu bent the blade back. When the metal formed a hook like shape, Natsu yanked the guy forward in one swift motion. Going low, Natsu stuck his leg out and swept it around. The soldier fell onto the ground, and Natsu grabbed his helmet. He ripped it off and grasped the man's head, snapping his neck in an instant.

Gajeel grabbed a knife and flung it. The blade pierced through a man's skull and he collapsed to the ground. Blood pooled around his head as he laid face down on the soppy ground. Another man came charging at Gajeel, and he dodged every punch with ease. The man went for another punch, but Gajeel gripped his wrist, pulled the man forth and slammed his elbow into his face. The man cried out in pain after Gajeel successfully broke his nose. Two more men came Gajeel's way, and he cursed under his breath. He dodged the spear's attack and spun around when the other man started swinging his sword.

"Enough of this," Gajeel seethed through gritted teeth. Incasing his body in iron scales, Gajeel held his arm up to deflect the man's sword. The man stumbled back from the ricochet, and Gajeel took a swing at the man. When his scaled fist struck him down, Gajeel finished him off with a kick in the gut to knock him over.

Across the way, Natsu saw five men coming his way. He chuckled and jumped back several paces and summoned his fire magic to his mouth. "Fire Dragon's Roar!" he yelled as spiraling flames engulfed the five men. Stopping his flames, Natsu stared at the men as they laid on the ground, charred from his attack. He clapped his hands together, proud of his handy work and looked over to Gajeel.

The Iron Dragon Slayer finished the last man off with a punch to the jaw, then to the gut, and finally knocked him off his feet. Cracking his neck, Gajeel let his iron scales fade away and turned to Natsu. "That was twelve," Gajeel said, walking over to Natsu. "There could be more, let's find the others."

Natsu nodded in agreement and looked up to the tree he had put Lucy in. She was holding onto Levy as they sat on the branch. He looked down at his body that was speckled with blood, knuckles bruised and bloodied, and his shorts were torn. When he looked back up at Lucy, he could see that she was scared. Everything had happened so fast and neither Gajeel, nor Natsu held back. They slaughtered those men, picking them off like they were daisies. He bit his lip and turned to Gajeel, who was just as bloody as he was.

"You're gonna need stitches," Gajeel commented, pointing at the wound on Natsu's ribs. "You should learn to defend your sides more."

Natsu looked at Gajeel and rolled his eyes. "Are you two alright?" Natsu called out to the two girls in the tree.

They didn't answer, but they did nod in response. He smiled up at them and sighed softly, turning on his heels to head over to the river. When he reached the water's edge, he knelt down slowly and grunted at the pain from his wound. Natsu splashed the water onto his body and began to wash off the blood before he went to help Lucy and Levy down. He cupped his hands beneath the cool water and splashed it onto his face. The wind blew gently, bring a scent to his nose. Sniffing the air, Natsu slowly stood up and looked across the river. His charcoal eyes locked with a woman's as she panted heavily with blood pouring down her shoulder. She held onto her wound, blood seeping through her fingers. As her body began to sway, Natsu started moving across the river. She fell face first into the water, blood spilling and tinting the water a faded red.

Gajeel saw Natsu swimming across the river and furrowed his brows in confusion. When his red eyes landed on the woman floating face down in the water, he realized Natsu was going to save her. The moment Natsu had her in his arms, he began swimming back to the other side. Gajeel ran over and helped him pull her out. They laid her down on the shore, and Gajeel brushed her blue hair from her face.

He closed his eyes and looked away from the young woman. "I know this woman," he said, and Natsu looked at him, panting lightly.

"Who is she?" Natsu asked him, wiping the water from his face. "How do you know her?" he pressed, looking down at the woman. His eyes went to her wound, it was a deep gash across her shoulder blade. There was no doubt she was running away from the men they killed moments ago. She wore fine clothes, so he had a hard time believing she was an escaped slave.

"Her name is Juvia," Gajeel spoke gruffly as he sat down beside the blue haired woman.

Natsu looked at Gajeel. "I'm gonna get the girl's down. We need to get her bandaged up." He pointed to Juvia and got onto his feet, making his way to the tree that Lucy and Levy were in. They both were watching from the high branch with curiosity about the young woman Natsu had just rescued.

"Is she alive?" Levy asked when Natsu got up on the branch. He nodded his head, but mentioned her wound was serious. "You need some patch work too." She pointed to the gash in Natsu's side, and he glanced at it waving the matter off.

"Who were those people?" Lucy asked, as she stared down at the scattered bodies of men. Her stomach churned at the blood stained grass and the way they had been mangled and burned from the two Dragon Slayer's attacks.

"I'm not sure," Natsu answered truthfully, looking down at the men. "I think they were after her." He pointed to the woman Gajeel was sitting beside.

"Why do you say that?" Levy asked as Natsu scooped her up into his arms and jumped down. He let Levy stand on her feet and jumped back up to retrieve Lucy. He put his arms around her and gently lifted her up.

"I'm sorry if I scared you," Natsu whispered into Lucy's ear. She looked at him and smiled weakly, shaking her head. "Gajeel knows that woman." He jumped down and let Lucy down onto her feet.

"He knows her?" Levy repeated, not sure if she heard him right. Natsu nodded his head and started walking back to Gajeel with Lucy and Levy following behind him. When they reached the two, Levy knelt down to examine her wound. It was deep and long, she would need stitches and it would need to be properly cleaned. She had lost quite a bit of blood too, which was why she had fainted. Her skin was like porcelain and completely flawless, she had to be the daughter of a nobleman. "How do you know this woman, Gajeel?" Levy asked, looking up at him.

"She was a slave," he answered and stood on his feet. "A slave to my previous master before I was put in the arena."

"She looks well taken care of to be a slave," Lucy mentioned, gesturing to her clothes, figure, and skin. Even Erza wasn't this well taken care of. It appeared like Juvia was a princess with manicured fingers and toes, well groomed brows, silky hair, and a beautiful blue dress made from the finest silks. "Are you sure she's the girl you're thinking of?"

Gajeel swallowed hard and let out a heavy breath. "Juvia was used to pleasure him in sexual manners," he explained, and Lucy frowned as she looked down at the woman. "That's why she appears so well taken care of."

"Who was the man?" Lucy asked, and Gajeel looked at her. "The man who owned her."

"Senator Jose Porla."

* * *

**-xOx-**

* * *

Gray cried out in pain after having been blown threw a window. A large shard of glass had lodged itself in his thigh, seeping a thin stream of blood. His shorts were becoming damp with blood as he carefully pulled the glass shard from his leg. Pain jolted through every nerve in his body, making him feel like he was being electrocuted. With the shard out of his leg, Gray stood onto his feet and looked at the window he'd be thrown through. In the broken window stood the girl with the indigo hair. He'd never known such a young girl to have such impressive magic abilities.

"The King and Queen aren't going to be happy about this," Gray muttered under his breath. The girl stepped out of the broken window, the glass crunched under her feet as she walked down the stairs. Her movements were so mechanical and precise, like she was a dancing marionette. "At least we're outside now," Gray stated as he watched the girl come forth.

"Where is she?" the young girl asked.

Gray furrowed his brows. "What?"

He was met with another powerful window blast that slammed him against a tree. When he fell onto the ground with a heavy thud, he began gasping for air. Gray rolled onto his stomach and got his hands and knees under himself. As he tried to stand, another wind blast slammed him into the tree. It stopped a few moments later and he was once again laying on the ground.

"Fuck," Gray coughed out as he rolled onto his belly.

The girl stood a few steps away from him. "Where is she?" she asked again.

"She who?" Gray asked as he pushed himself onto his knees. The girl was about to attack again, but Gray wasn't going to make the same mistake. He waved his hand in front of himself, unleashing dozens of ice like shards that were razor sharp. The indigo haired girl, braced herself as the ice sliced her clothes, legs, and arms.

When the ice finally stopped, the girl dusted the shards off ice from her body. She looked back to Gray, who had vanished from his spot. Her eyes narrowed with frustration as she turned around, only to be met with an ice shaped spear inches from her face.

"Let's try this again," Gray said harshly. He tapped his foot on the ground and the girl was trapped in a cage of ice. She looked around her and growled lowly like some sort of animal. "Who sent you?" the ice mage questioned with narrowed eyes, still holding onto his ice made spear.

The girl just stared at him.

"Who are you after?" Gray interrogated.

The girl still remained silent, but her eyes were trained on him like a lioness stalking her prey. He sighed and shook his head, realizing she wasn't going to speak to him. Gray leaned against the ice spear and stared at the girl. She was small and petite, but obviously powerful and deadly. He couldn't be sure it was of her own free will though, she seemed like she was being controlled to attack him.

"Inside the mansion," Gray pointed to the mansion and the girl glanced that way. "You had a bloody blade in your hand. Where are my friends?" He waited for her to say or do something, but she did nothing. Her eyes were just locked on his, and she remained very still. It was almost like she was waiting for something.

Clicking sounded off, and Gray closed his eyes, twirling the ice spear in his hand. He pursed his lips and opened his eyes. On all sides of him were armored soldiers, holding guns and swords. He took in a deep breath and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Hello Lieutenant Fullbuster," a voice that radiated entitlement and power came. It was a voice that Gray was all too familiar with, one that he hated. When he turned to face the speaker, he put a fake smile on his face. "Looks like my little Wendy beat you up pretty good, huh?" Senator Jose Porla asked with a dark chuckle.

"I thought you were still in Crocus," Gray commented. "I suppose all good things must come to an end, huh?"

Senator Porla snorted and crossed his arms behind his back, circling Gray like a shark. "Witty, Lieutenant," the man retorted as he stopped directly in front of him. Jose Porla was a man of many things, greed being the biggest. Next to King Heartfilia, Jose Porla was one of the richest and most influential men in all of Magnolia and the surrounding villages. "After this is all over, maybe we'll strip you of your title."

Gray glared at the senator. He was a tall and slim built man with a thin mustache, a long face, pointy ears, and dark colored lips. His clothes were as flamboyant as ever, making him appear more like a joker than a senator. "Funny, I was thinking that same thing for you," Gray seethed with an eye roll. "Why did you attack us? Where are my friends?"

"Now, now," Senator Porla chided with a wave of his hand. "You help me and no harm will come to your friends."

Gray narrowed his eyes. How could he believe him after the girl, Wendy, had appeared before him with a bloody blade? Not to mention she nearly killed him! Senator Porla was not a man of his word, he was a snake, a bastard, a rat. Gray was pretty sure that even if he tied him up and slapped him across the face with some honesty he still wouldn't know what it was.

"That's hard to believe when I found her with a blood covered blade, Senator," Gray explained. "But I guess considering that you're a crooked little bastard, it's not much of a surprise." The ice mage shrugged his shoulders and smirked at his own words when he saw the anger flare in Porla's dark green eyes.

The Senator looked to his men and nodded his head to them. Gray glanced at the two guards as they approached them with their weapons trained on him. "Where's Princess Lucy, Mr. Fullbuster?" Senator Porla asked as the two guards had their pistols aimed at his head. "I suggest you answer truthfully."

Gray licked his lips and sighed softly. "Truthfully, that's funny coming from you." The guards coked their pistols, and Gray took in a deep breath. "Well if this is how it has to be." Gray stomped his foot on the ground and dozens of ice spikes protruded through the earth. The guards were sliced and cut as the sharp spikes ripped through their armor, blood slowly spilling down the ice and pooling on the ground.

Senator Porla looked at his men and cursed under his breath. "Very impressive, Lieutenant."

Gray held his ice spear up at Jose's neck. "What's going on, Porla? No more games, I'm losing my patience."

Porla looked away from Gray and laughed lightly. "This isn't a game," he assured Gray with a dark smile. "We'll be back." The dark haired man slowly faded away, and Gray tried to stab him, but he was gone. He whipped around and cursed when he saw that the girl was gone too.

"Damn it all!" Gray growled, punching the iced cage he made causing it to shatter.

* * *

**-xOx-**

* * *

Queen Layla was sitting on the stone row of the arena, staring blankly at the sandy ground. She sighed softly and covered her face with her hands. Everything had just unraveled so quickly, and she felt like she had ruined her relationship with her daughter. With her elbows rested on her knees, Queen Layla hunched over slightly and felt the tears pricking at her eyes.

"Lucy loves you, Queen Layla," Loke spoke as he slowly walked over to her, holding an old blanket around his shoulders. The Queen quickly lifted her head and turned to look at the orange haired man. "It's just a lot to take in." He smiled at her and took a seat beside her.

"Loke, you shouldn't be up. Your wounds—"

"I want you to tell me about the Zodiac," Loke interrupted. "You said I was Leo, the King of the Zodiac."

Layla stared at Loke for a moment before pressed her lips together and nodding her head. "Yes, you are."

"I want you to tell me everything," Loke said, and Layla sighed softly. "You owe me that much, Queen Layla."

She frowned, but nodded in agreement. "Okay, you're right. I'll tell you everything."


	17. Zodiac

**Author's Note: **Hello sweetums! Sorry for the wait, but I was busy this weekend purchasing a brand new vehicle and boy am I proud of it! Anyways, I also want to inform you all that I have started a Gajeel and Levy story called: **Say Something**. So if you are a fan of that pairing check it out. Also with school having started again, much of my free time will be taken up. I will only be updating this story 2 times a week now. And if I can do more, I most certainly will! So we're at 168 comments, who thinks we can make 180?

**Special** **Thanks: **12Redsky34. ChittiD, AWK and The Akatsugirls, kiraito, Emfanissa, Lucinda, Celtika82, jazzybagel, DatAnonymousGal, Xayase, and OmegaSage037! You guys totally rock, thanks for the comments!

**Warnings: **AU. Sexual Content. Cursing. Violence.

* * *

**Zodiac**

**_-Twelve Years Ago-_**

_She sat on the edge of the round shaped pool. Her blue hair draped over her slender figure, the moonlight gave off and iridescent glow making her appear ethereal. As he approached, she let out a breath and looked up at him. He knelt down beside her and stared at his reflection in the water. The meeting hadn't gone so well, but he had made up his mind. For hundreds of years the Zodiac had served the Heartfilia family and they would continue to do so. Loke liked his lips and glanced at the mermaid perched on the stone edge of the pool._

_ "Aquarius," Loke said gently, but firmly._

_ She silenced him. "This is a mistake, Leo. What about Aries? What about all of us?" She shook her head and tersely chuckled. About an hour ago, Leo had told all the members of the Zodiac he would be leaving the Spirit World in order to serve the Heartfilia's permanently in the Human World. It went without saying that everyone thought it was a bad idea for many reasons, but the most important one was that he may never be able to return._

_ Leo ran his fingers through his wild orange hair that resembled the mane of a lion. "We can't let this happen to Lucy, you know that."_

_ Aquarius snorted. "Our contract is to protect them, nothing more and nothing less. You are the King of the Zodiac! Act like it." She glared at him with her dark stormy blue eyes._

_ "Act what? Greedy? Manipulative? Demanding?" Leo asked somewhat sarcastically, earning an eye roll from the beautiful mermaid. She shook her head and messed with the gold trinket in her hair. "I figured you'd be happy to lead in my stead."_

_ "Cut the shit," Aquarius hissed, pointing an accusing finger at him. "You know why I'm against this absurd idea of yours. What the hell are you thinking, Leo? You're going to ruin everything!"_

_ "What am I ruining, Aquarius? Huh?" He stood up, shoving his hands into the black coat he was wearing. His eyes remained on her as she sat still, not moving and not speaking. It was a big risk to take, he could die, he could probably never return, and the Zodiac would forever be broken. Leaving meant the Zodiac would never be able to be complete, a piece would forever be missing. "Look, I understand this is a lot to ask of you and everyone, but I have to do this."_

_ Aquarius sighed in defeat. She knew that they wouldn't be able to change his mind. If there was one thing that Leo was it was loyal. He never turned his back on those he cared about. Leo just didn't know how too, all he knew was doing what he believed was right. It was because of his selflessness, bravery, and wit that Leo was the King of the Zodiac. In this moment though, Aquarius doubted his ability to reason._

_ "Are you really sure you want to do this, Leo? Think about what you are doing." Aquarius sank down into the water. She smiled at him weakly and looked past him. He caught her averted gaze and turned on his heels, seeing Aries standing before him. Leo bit his lip and let out a soft sigh. If there was one person that could make Leo second guess everything, it was Aries._

_ A splash sounded and when he turned around, Leo found that Aquarius had left them alone. "Aries," Leo murmured as she walked over to him. She placed her small hands onto his chest and looked up into his eyes. "I'll come back for you." He smiled reaching for her face, stroking her cheek in a loving manner. Aries turned to his touch and closed her eyes allowing her tears to slip from her eyes._

_ Leo stroked her soft pink hair and pulled her into him. His arms encircled her, and he rested his chin on top of her head. "Do you really have to do this?" Aries asked him, pulling away slowly. Loke met her brown eyes and smiled weakly._

_ "It'll be okay, don't worry." He leaned down and kissed her forehead._

_ "You don't know that," Aries muttered, shaking her head. "You heard what Layla said."_

_ "Aries," Leo sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "We have to try, Lucy marrying that prince would be bad."_

_ "But what about the rest of us? We need you too," Aries commented, hugging her small frame. The little white lamb, who was normally so shy and soft spoken was being assertive. "What if you can never come back like Layla said?"_

_ "We won't know until we try." Leo shrugged his shoulders._

_ Aries stared at him in disbelief. "So you're willing to risk everything?"_

_ "I guess I am," he replied, looking down at the ground. "I'm leaving tomorrow evening." With those words, Leo walked away leaving Aries alone in the moonlighted garden._

* * *

**-xOx-**

* * *

"We summoned you to this world and used another spell to break your ties with the Spirit World," Layla explained softly as they sat under the canopy shade of the arena. "When you woke up, you didn't remember anything at all. Not who you were, not the Zodiac, nothing at all. That's when we gave you fake memories." She brushed her hair behind her ear and shook her head. It was wrong of them to agree to let Loke come to the Human World, even if it was of his own volition. He was a spirit and belonged in the Spirit World. At the time though, Layla was selfish because she was afraid that her daughter would have to marry the Prince of Crocus. Magnolia would have fallen to them, but now it appeared they would still fall.

"I don't remember anything," Loke muttered, grabbing his head and trying to dig for any real memories. "And you want to send me back?" he asked the Queen with a raised brow, letting his hands drop into his lap.

Layla nodded her head. "Jude won't allow you to stay, and I know Lucy won't let you leave."

Loke nodded in understanding. He really didn't want to return to the estate, he'd rather take his chances at the arena. If there was one thing he'd learned about King Jude over the years it was that he was cold and often unforgiving. Sometimes he wondered how someone as kind and beautiful as Layla could ever be with him. She was far too good for that man, and Lucy was too genuine and kind to be his daughter.

"May I ask you something?" Loke inquired, looking down at the ground.

"What is it?"

"How did you and Jude end up together? You're complete opposites," Loke stated, and earned a small chuckle from Layla. She shook her head and sighed softly, wondering where she could even begin. "It seems like each passing year Jude becomes colder and colder."

Layla nodded knowingly. She couldn't defend Jude, he had become hardened and cold. She could say it was the pressures of being a King, or perhaps it was the fact that he was going to lose his daughter and in turn the kingdom. None of that would be a good excuse though, Jude had no reason to be this way.

"I guess I could defend him, but there aren't any excuses good enough for what he did to you." Layla looked at Loke and smiled weakly. "I'm so sorry, Loke. I can assure you Jude wasn't always like this. He was a good man who worked hard, but like any politician it became about his title and his families reputation and the strength of his city. He's slowly losing all of that and it has made him hateful and bitter to everything and everyone who has been good to him." Layla shook her head and stared out into space, she hated what fame and fortune had done to her husband.

"Can we get my memories back?" Loke inquired, changing the subject upon noticing the sadness growing in Layla's eyes.

"I don't know," Layla said with a shrug. "Like I said, you had no memories when you became a part of our world."

Loke bit his lip. Everything was just so confusing, he couldn't understand why anyone would want to live in such a web of lies. "Why didn't you just tell me the truth? Why did you give me made up memories?"

"Sometimes people do things because they make sense at the time," Layla replied softly, looking into Loke's hazel eyes. "If I could go back and tell you the truth from the start I would." He stared at her for a moment and nodded his head. It wasn't like it was entirely Layla's fault, if he came willingly it was a risk he was willing to take at the time. Loke wasn't upset about it really, he did what he came to the Human World to do: protect Lucy and her mother.

"Could I see them? The rest of the Zodiac I mean?" he asked hopefully. "Maybe it will bring back my memories of being this Zodiac King."

"It's worth a try," Layla replied with a single nod. "But first you have to regain your strength." She gestured to his back that was still heavily bandaged. It had only been two days since Jude had unleashed his fury. Loke was so lucky to be alive; Layla really believed that Jude was going to flog him to death.

* * *

**-xOx-**

* * *

He sat in his throne room, staring down at the papers of his three Dragon Slayers he had acquired after the death of his father. Wendy Marvell a Sky Dragon Slayer, Sting Eucliffe a White Dragon Slayer, and Rogue Cheney a Shadow Dragon Slayer; there was one more he was after. He sank back into his large throne made of the bones. His dark eyes slowly shifted to red, making him look menacing in the dimly lit throne room.

Dark strands of hair fell into his eyes as he leaned forward and tossed the papers aside, letting them flutter to the floor. The double doors of the throne room came open and the prince slowly lifted his head. He narrowed his eyes as one of his servants approached him. Just before he got to the platform, the servant knelt down and bowed lowly.

"We've received word from Jose," the servant began to explain, lifting up his head to lock eyes with the Prince of Crocus. "King Heartfilia is currently in possession of two Dragon Slayers and is in the process of hunting down a third." The servant waited for the Prince to react, but he merely stared down at him.

The Prince stood from his throne and walked down the five stone steps that were draped in a red carpet. He stopped in front of the servant and gestured for him to stand up. As requested, the servant stood up and waited for the Prince's response. "Send word to the King that I shall be participating in the Exhibition Games of Magnolia."

The servant stared for a moment, shocked that the Prince would be going to such an event. He swallowed and nodded his head, assuring the Prince that he would take care of it immediately. Nodding, the Prince dismissed the servant and walked to the back door of the room. When the door clicked close, the servant shook his head. The Prince was not obeying the request of his deceased father. He was not to interfere with Magnolia or the Heartfilia's until next year at the Colossuem Battles. The servant walked out of the room and entered the grand hall, but stopped when he saw a shadowed figure leaning against one of the marble pillars.

"Sometimes I wish it was the Prince who died instead," the blond spoke as he pushed off the pillar. He crossed his muscled arms over his chest and turned to face the servant. "He's such a vindictive little shit."

"Mind your tongue, Sting." The servant shook his head. "You may be a Dragon Slayer, but you are his least favorite."

"That's okay he's not exactly at the top of my friend's list," Sting chuckled with a shrug of his shoulders. He sighed and ran his fingers through his blond hair, turning to look over the balcony's edge at the city of Crocus. "He's just impatient. He doesn't know the right time to strike." Sting licked his lips and leaned onto the stone railing of the balcony, shaking his head as he watched the hustle and bustle of Crocus.

"You're arrogance proceeds you as always," the servant retorted with an eye roll.

"Confidence, not arrogance," Sting corrected with a wave of his finger. "I'll tell Rogue." Jumping up on the stone railing, Sting looked back at the servant and saluted him before sliding down to the next level. The servant walked over to the edge and peered over, watching Sting venture across the garden. For as long as he had known Sting, he'd always been arrogant and cheerful character. Turning away, the servant made his way to the messenger's quarters to inform him of the Prince's message to King Heartfilia.


	18. Captain

**Author's Note: **Hello lovely readers! I can't believe how long this story is? I can't believe how far it's come and it's all thanks to you guys! I appreciate all the follows and favorites and comments, it really encourages me to keep going. So thank you so much! Tell me what you think of everything so far in a review, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

**Special** **Thanks: **12Redsky34, AWK and The Akatsugirls, DatAnonymousGal, dreamer, OmegaSage037,XxDrAGonSLaYerXXx, Steel Redfox, Natsu fire dragon salamander. and ChittiD! Lots of love guys, thanks for reviewing!

**Warnings: **AU. Sexual Content. Cursing. Violence.

* * *

**Captain**

Jellal groaned as he rolled onto his back, the wooden debris slipping off his body. Everything had happened so fast, he didn't even have the chance to defend or react. That girl had just appeared in the room and quite literally blew them away. It was like a tornado ripped through the room, leaving nothing but destruction in its wake. He coughed a few times as he tried to sit up, only to lay back down. Jellal put a hand to his head and flinched when he felt the wound on his hairline. His sticky blood went onto his finger tips and trickled down over his eye. Letting out a breath, Jellal slowly sat himself up and scooted back against the wall for some support.

He and Erza were talking about his conversation with Gajeel. Everyone else had gone down to the river for a swim. They were planning on joining, but that was when that little girl walked in. The door to the bedroom was ripped from its hinges by a powerful gust of wind. Her hair was long and a rich indigo color, she seemed so young; the prowess of her magic stated otherwise though. Jellal was quite skilled in magic, he was the guard captain of the city after all. The way that young girl fought though was precise and unforgiving. She asked one question, and when they questioned her, she unleashed raging winds within the room.

When Jellal managed to regain vision, his mouth slowly fell open. His blue hair fell into his eyes as he looked around the room. The furniture had been destroyed and splintered around the room, the lace curtains had been torn to pieces, the walls had holes and cracks, the floor had been ripped up in certain places. The window of the room had been shattered into hundreds of little pieces, letting in the natural light of the setting sun. He swallowed hard and pressed his hand against the wall as he tried to stand on his feet. His knees were shaking, but he managed to stay standing.

"Erza?" Jellal called out, looking for the scarlet haired woman. He moved away from the wall and stepped over the debris of the room. "Erza? Are you okay?"

The bed had been position up right, blocking his view of part of the room. It was resting against the flipped over couch and ottoman that was once placed by the book shelf in the left corner of the room. Books, pictures, and furniture created a maze before him as he moved around the bed. When he looked up at the wall, his eyes shot wide open with horror.

"Erza!" Jellal cried out as he limped across the room to the woman.

Her arms were spread out, her head hanging between her shoulders with her hair like a red waterfall over her body. The clothes she had been wearing had been ripped, barely covering her. Soaked in her own blood and nailed onto the wall, it didn't appear as though she was breathing. Her skin had gone pale from the blood loss as it dripped from his wrist, staining the wall appearing like ribbons.

Jellal couldn't believe what he was seeing. He refused to believe that girl had done this to Erza, but no one else would have. His heart sank as he came closer, seeing Erza just hanging on the wall. Jellal raised onto his toes, grasping the large black nails that had been stabbed into Erza's wrists. He pulled them out quickly and held onto her as she fell into his arms. Kneeling onto his knees, Jellal cradled Erza against him and brushed her hair from her face.

"Erza? Hey, can you hear me? Erza!" Jellal gently shook her frame. He could see she was breathing, so he took that as a good sign. "Come on, Erza. Open your eyes!" Jellal waited for something, but Erza didn't reply in any way. He could feel her blood soaking onto his body, which made him panic.

He laid Erza down on the floor and pulled off his shirt, ripping it into strips. If he didn't stop her from bleeding, she would die from blood loss. Carefully and gently, Jellal bandaged Erza's wounds as best he could with what materials he had. He looked down at her face, it was like she was merely sleeping. If he didn't act fast though, he knew it would be an eternal sleep. Biting his lip, Jellal stroked the side of Erza's face and told her she had to stay strong. His fingers gently glided over her skin and over her plump lips. They ended at her jawline, where he pressed his fingers to find her pulse.

"Stay with me," Jellal said, feeling her faint pulse against the tips of his fingers. He stared at her face, cupping it with his one hand. Her life was slowly fading away, she must have had internal injuries that he couldn't see. "Don't give up, Erza! I know you're stronger than this." Tears were welling in his eyes as he hunched over her small frame. His tears fell and dripped onto her cheek.

"Jellal! Erza!" Gray shouted from the first floor. "Where are you guys?"

Jellal couldn't bring himself to answer as he stared down at Erza, hoping her eyes would flutter open. He took hold of her hand, lacing his calloused fingers with hers. Outside of the room, Jellal could hear Gray coming up the stairs still calling for them. Pressing his lips into a firm line, Jellal felt his tears slipping down his cheeks.

One more tear fell onto Erza's cheek and Gray walked into the room. "Jellal?" his subordinate questioned as he walked towards them. "Oh no," Gray breathed when he saw Erza laying on the ground. He came to Jellal's side and knelt down, staring at Erza with worry. When Gray looked at Jellal, he closed his eyes. Never had he seen the stoic Captain of the Guard so defeated and broken. He looked back to Erza, and his eyes widened when she groaned.

"Erza?" Jellal leaned over her. "Hey."

The redhead woman slowly opened up her eyes and turned to look at Gray and Jellal, who both seemed so relieved. She smiled weakly, and Jellal gently helped her sit up, wrapping his arms around her. He cried into her shoulder, and she stiffened in surprise. The Captain wasn't normally one to show such emotions. He stroked the back of her head and pulled back, touching the side of her face.

"Thank god, Erza," Jellal said with a happy smile and teary eyes.

Gray nodded to Erza, happy to see that she was alright—for the most part. "What happened?" he asked them both.

Jellal looked to his lieutenant and stared at him. "It was a girl."

"She attacked you guys too?" Gray asked in surprise. "When I came to find you guys, she was down stairs in the dining room with a bloody blade. Before I could do anything, she attacked me." The dark haired guard shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair. He didn't understand why Senator Porla had that girl attack them. As far as he knew Senator Porla was on good terms with everyone in Magnolia.

"She was incredibly powerful for someone so young," Jellal commented with a shake of his head. "Did she say anything to you?" he inquired, eyeing Gray curiously.

The Ice Mage nodded his head. "She asked me where 'she' was, but I had no idea what she was talking about. I managed to trap her in my ice, but then…" Gray trailed off and stared down at the ground.

Jellal waited, but Gray seemed lost in his thoughts. "Then what?" he pressed, urging Gray to continue with his story.

"Senator Porla is looking for Lucy." Gray looked at Jellal, who furrowed his brows in confusion. "He was the one who had that girl, Wendy, attack us."

"Why?" Jellal questioned. "I thought he was still in Crocus."

Gray shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.

The Captain turned his attention back to Erza. "Did something happen between Lucy and Porla while you two were in Crocus?"

Erza shook her head. "No we hardly saw him, except for a few parties. I don't believe they even spoke." The pain in her wrist was stinging badly. She felt like she had been thrown into a wall, although she technically was. At the mention of Senator Porla doing this, Erza tried to think of anytime Lucy had come into contact with him. He had come to Crocus towards the end of their stay, he seemed to be trying to gain political favors from the Prince.

"Perhaps he's trying to use her against the King?" Gray suggested.

"I wouldn't doubt it, Porla's always been a special kind of twisted," Jellal snorted. He looked back to Erza and stood up. She looked at him as he offered to help her up. "We need to get those properly taken care of. Where is Levy?"

"They're still at the river," Gray replied as they both helped Erza onto her feet. She groaned as she felt a little dizzy. Jellal helped her stay up and looked at Gray. "I'll go check on them." Gray quickly left the room, and Jellal guided Erza out carefully.

"Why would Jose be after Lucy?" Erza wondered as they began walking down the stairs. Jellal held her tightly, and it was in that moment that she realized how close he really was. She could feel his strength, soaked up his warmth, and if she turned her head she was certain her lips would brush against his cheek.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Jellal stopped and turned to look at Erza. "I don't know why, but we'll protect her."

Erza smiled at him. "This is a side of you I haven't seen in a while, Captain Fernandes."

Jellal chuckled tersely and shrugged his shoulders. "Here," he gestured to a chair, "sit down. I'll get some water for you." Jellal helped her sit in the chair and walked over to the sink to get her a glass of water.

"I hope we can kill the bastard," Erza muttered, and Jellal glanced at her. "The world would be a much better place without Senator Jose Porla."

"I concur," Jellal laughed lightly as he brought the water to Erza. He handed her the glass cup, and she thanked him, bringing it to her lips. "First we need to figure out why he's doing this."

"Gray saw him, he commanded that girl to attack, isn't that enough?" Erza asked.

"Senator Porla is a politician. We'll need more witnesses, he has a lot of money to by his way out of this. We need something concrete, something that his money can't buy him out of." Jellal knelt down before Erza and looked into her eyes, smiling weakly at her. "Don't worry, we'll get him. I'm the Captain of the Guard, remember." He winked at her, and she chuckled.

The sound of the door opening and feet padding on the wooden floor caught their attention. Jellal stood up and watched as Gray skidded to a halt. The dark hair man was panting heavily and walked over to them both. "They were attacked too."

"What!" Erza yelped.

"They're okay," Gray assured Erza, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Gajeel says an ex-slave friend of his was running from Senator Porla's men."

Jellal furrowed his brows and tilted his head. "Gajeel? He used to be a slave to Senator Porla?"

"Don't tell me you forgot the story," Gray said, surprised that the Captain didn't remember the incident between Porla and Gajeel. It was the story around the city. At the time they were all still young and Jellal had only recently joined the guard, but everyone in Magnolia knew about Senator Porla's daughter being raped by one of his slaves. People talked about it for months, but they quickly swept it under the rug to not tarnish the family name. Of course, the Porla name wasn't really a good one to begin with.

"Story?" Jellal repeated.

"The one where Gajeel had been accused of raping Porla's daughter? Six years ago, you had just joined the guard at the time," Gray reminded him.

"That's right," Jellal sighed and shook his head. "So who was the slave they found?"

The sound of the door opening caught their attention. "Lay her on the table, I'll stitch her up." They turned to see Levy walking into the dining room with Gajeel following her, carrying a girl in his arms. When Gajeel had placed the girl down on the table, Levy scurried into the kitchen to get a bowl of water and some towels. "Upstairs in my room I have my first aid kit, go get it," Levy said to Gray, who nodded and left.

"Who is that girl, Levy?" Jellal asked, pointing at the girl on the table.

She turned to look at them and gasped when she saw Erza's makeshift bandages that were splotched with blood. "What happened to you?" Levy asked with worry as she walked to Erza and carefully examined her wrist.

"We were attacked too," Erza replied and looked up when she heard the door open. A few moments later, Lucy and Natsu were standing in the doorway. "Lucy are you okay?" the redheaded woman asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Lucy assured her with a smile. "Erza! Your wrists!" the blonde gaped and shook her head.

"Jose was looking for you, Lucy," Jellal interrupted. "Why?"


	19. Dangerous

**Author's Note: **Hey there everyone! I really hope you are all still with me on this story, because this chapter is huge. We're finally moving into the core of the story. A lot happens in this chapter, and I would just like to say before you read, I am taking some liberties here. I'm trying to keep the characters close to their personalities, but their friendships and such will obviously be altered for the story. But I do apologize for any OOC-ness! I'm trying my best to keep things interesting, I hope I'm doing the characters justice. Please enjoy this next chapter and thank you to everyone who has supported this story by following and putting it on your favorites list! It truly means so much to me.

**Special** **Thanks:** 12Redsky34, dreamer, ChittiD, clank2662, AWK and The Akatsugirls, Celtika82, Lucinda, DatAnonymousGal, and SunsetRika! Thank you all so much for the feedback, I really hope you continue to do so and please enjoy this chapter!

**Warnings: **AU. Sexual Content. Cursing. Violence.

* * *

**Dangerous**

She was curled up in a chair with a white tea cup rimmed with gold in her hands. Her honey brown eyes were gazing off into space, and her hair was cascading over her slender shoulders. The sun hand gone down, the entire house was quiet, and for once everything seemed peaceful. Ever since her return to Magnolia it seemed like everything was being torn apart. Her family was in an ugly downward spiral, she'd hurt one of her best friends, she'd fallen in love with a slave, and now some sleazy politician was after her. Jellal had questioned her pretty hard about it, drilling her for nearly two hours. It wasn't until Natsu and Gray dragged him outside that he finally calmed down. Erza explained that he was just worried about what had happened, how they'd been attacked.

Lucy understood that. She knew it was scary and hard. There was this huge web that was being spun, filled with lies, truths, and secrets. If she could go back and straightened everything out she would, but it had all started so long ago. When she was a child, she was merely a child. There was nothing she could do about what her parents had done—what her father had done. Lucy swallowed hard and shook her head, she couldn't believe everything that was happening. She put her tea cup down on the table beside her and saw Natsu standing under the archway. He smiled at her and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I feel like it's never going to end," Lucy murmured, curling her knees into her chest. She rested her chin on them and looked away from Natsu. "People are going to just keep getting hurt because of me and my family and the stupid fucking decisions we've made." Tears welled up in her eyes and she rubbed her face with her hands, trying her best to hide it. It was like the weight of the world was on her shoulders and nothing she did could get it off.

"I know, I haven't been around and we don't really know each other, but I know you are strong right now," Natsu said to her. "And I don't think you realize how strong, but now strong is all you have." He pushed away from the wall and made his way over to her. When he sat down on the arm of the chair, Natsu reached for Lucy's hair and brushed to back over her shoulder. She closed her eyes at his touch and sighed softly.

"Then let's get to know each other." She opened up her eyes and looked at him. "Start from the beginning."

Natsu rubbed the back of his neck and stifled a laugh. Most people didn't care to know anything about him. All they ever cared to know is if he was strong, healthy, and a good fighter. When people showed interest in his past it made him a little nervous. His past wasn't something worth talking about. Natsu's childhood was something quite fragile and damaged, and he wasn't proud of it either.

"When I was a boy about five years old, my parents were killed in cold blood. The King of Crocus decreed every rebel tribe to be killed across his lands. It was a genocide," Natsu explained, staring out the window with this look of distance in his eyes. It appeared like he was traveling back to that time, which made Lucy frown. Her childhood had been so privileged, she always had a beautiful home, plenty of money, servant to look after her, an education, and any desires a little princess could want. It made her realize just how spoiled she had been, but she grew out of that.

"Did you see them?" Lucy asked him, snapping him from his trance. "Your parents being killed…did you see them?"

Natsu nodded his head stiffly. "I did," he paused for a moment, "their throats were slit, blood was everyone, and they were hung by their feet in a large tree in the middle of our village. The sun rose blood red that morning." He pressed his lips together and swallowed hard, he still remembered the earth being soppy with blood and other bodily fluids, he remembered the smell of smoke and ash, he remembered the carcasses of his parents and tribesmen hanging from the tree, and he remembered the pain in his chest when he realized he was the sole survivor of his tribe.

"I'm sorry, this can't be easy for you," Lucy muttered, feeling a little guilty for bringing it up. "My childhood was so simple compared to yours." She ran her fingers through her hair and sighed softly.

"We all have our own hardships," Natsu assured her with a smile. "The point of it all is how you handle it now."

Lucy nodded in understanding. "You seem so enlightened for a slave."

Natsu chuckled and shrugged his shoulders, showing a big goofy looking grin. "When you've seen what I've seen in the arena, you try to see the bright side of things. When I was sixteen, I just waited for someone to kill me, but in the arena I fought with every ounce of strength and courage I had."

"Meaning what?" Lucy inquired with a raised brow.

Natsu got up from the arm rest of the couch and kept his back to her. "It meant I didn't want to die. And maybe that's because I wish to avenge the wrongful deaths of my family." He turned around and looked down at Lucy, who was sitting up perfectly straight in the chair with her feet on the floor.

"The King of Crocus is dead," Lucy said.

Natsu nodded knowingly. "But the man who lead the attack isn't," he took in a sharp breath. "They came for me a year later, killed Igneel and sold me into slavery." Natsu's eyes were watering and Lucy stood up from her chair, walking over to him cautiously.

"That's how my father found you, isn't it?" Lucy asked, placing her hands on his arms. He was so warm to the touch, she could just stay in his arms forever. Natsu's dark eyes looked down at her for moment before he smiled and nodded. "Then he sold you away. The way my father treats his slaves sickens me." The Princess shook her head in disappointment and bit her lip.

"You'll make a good Queen one day, Luce," Natsu said to her, and she blushed. "You have compassion and kindness your father couldn't ever dream of having." He brushed his hand against her face and stared at her lips for a moment. Clearing his throat, Natsu stepped away from Lucy and looked down at the ground.

"Natsu," Lucy whispered, taking hold of his hand. He laced his fingers through hers and turned to look at her. Their faces were so close, she could feel his breath brushing over her skin. Butterflies were going wild in her stomach, and Natsu even seemed nervous. She bit her lip as Natsu slowly started leaning towards her.

"I hope you know what you're getting into, Princess," Natsu spoke in a deep, husky voice that made her insides clench. If it was possibly Lucy would have just eaten Natsu up with a big spoon. The danger that surrounded him thrilled her, the wildness of his power seduced her, and the taste of his lips melted her. When his hands went to her petite hips and pulled her against his rock hard body, she could feel herself becoming soaked. He was so powerful and smooth, it drove her crazy.

Lucy pushed herself up onto her toes, pressing their lips together. Her arms wrapped around his neck and shoulder and her body was pressed tightly against him. In that moment, Lucy realized how well they fit together. Natsu gripped her hips and moved his lips gently against hers. His hands moved down to her ass, slid down the back of her thighs, and squeezed firmly. Lucy moaned against his lips and combed her fingers through his pink hair, tugging slightly.

Natsu picked Lucy up and her legs wrapped around his narrow waist. He slowly moved towards the couch and sat down. Her thighs rested on either side of Natsu's, and she moved her hands down to his muscled chest and abs. Her dress pooled over his laps and her legs, exposing half of her thighs. As Natsu moved his hands up her thighs, he pushed the dress up with it. Lucy smiled against his lips and slowly pulled away.

"Maybe we should go somewhere more private," Lucy whispered with a small giggle.

"Yeah seriously," Gray grumbled from the doorway, causing both Lucy and Natsu to stiffen. "The King's going to kill you," Gray directed to Natsu. "Then he's going to make you clean it up." He pointed at Lucy, who climbed off of Natsu and brushed her hair behind her ear.

"Gray, please," Lucy hissed, feeling embarrassed enough.

"At first I thought this was just a fling, something to get back at your dad with, but apparently it's real," Gray said, looking to Lucy and then to Natsu. "You realize how dangerous this is? The uproar this could cause?"

"I know, but…" Lucy trailed off.

"This is very dangerous," Gray stated firmly and looked at Natsu. "You're not a bad guy, I've figured that much out. That won't be enough though, and I don't want either one of you to get hurt. So you really need to consider the outcomes of all of this." He gestured between the two of them and smiled weakly. When he turned on his heels and left, the two lovers exchanged glances at each other.

* * *

**-xOx-**

* * *

Macao stared up at the Heartfilia Estate from the front entrance. He couldn't believe he was going to get the Keys of the Zodiac. It wasn't like he could let the Queen do it though, King Jude would probably look her within the mansion walls. He was just too unpredictable at the moment, besides Queen Layla assured that as soon as Loke was back in the Spirit World she would return. Macao let out a breath and walked through the gates hoping he could get in and get out with no problems.

He heard the sound of horse hooves thundering behind him. When Macao whirled around, he gasped and stumbled back as a rider of a horse as white as snow darted pass. The rider was wearing the symbol of the royal family of Crocus. He wondered why someone from Crocus was coming here, normally they wouldn't hear from Crocus until after the exhibition games taking place next month just before the first day of autumn. Macao started running up to the front, he had a bad feeling about a messenger coming from Crocus.

Just as Macao had reached the front entrance of the Heartfilia mansion, he witnessed the messenger passing off a letter to Alzack. The messenger didn't wait around, he quickly mounted onto his horse and raced off like it was nobody's business. Macao watched him go by and let out a breath when he looked back to Alzack, opening up the sealed letter. As Alzack read the letter to himself, Macao approached and greeted the guard. The dark haired man quickly looked up and narrowed his eyes at Macao.

"What are you doing here?" Alzack asked, pulling his gun from his holster. Macao raised a brow, and held up his hands to signify he meant no harm. The gun master lowered his weapon a few seconds later and holstered it.

Macao smiled weakly and pointed to the letter. "Is that from Crocus?"

Alzack nodded his head. "The Prince is coming here."

"What?" Macao gaped. "When? Why?" he questioned, snatching the letter up from Alzack. His eyes darted to the words explaining why the Prince was coming to Magnolia.

_ King Heartfilia,_

_ I am writing to you to inform you that I will be arriving in Magnolia a week before the Exhibition Games begins in your city. Normally I would not attend such festivities, however, due to the circumstances of this particular year, I believe you understand. Our agreement still stands even though my father has unfortunately passed, surely your daughter has informed you of this happening._

_I want to make sure that this little arrangement goes over smoothly, for we both know that you do not have the power to stop me. I do understand that you have had some luck in finding another Dragon Slayer, perhaps you will be able to make fight for it. Upon my arrival I wish to discuss a few matters about our arrangement, and I encourage you to consider the options I will be giving you._

_ I will see you soon, King Heartfilia. Give my regards to your daughter and wife._

_ Sincerely,_

_ Prince Zeref_

Macao wanted to crumple up the letter. No, he wanted to burn it, rip it to shreds, pretend it had never been received. He gave the letter back to Alzack and told him to give it to the King immediately. The gun master didn't wait, he went straight inside to find the King. Time had finally run out. Macao prayed that Natsu and Gajeel would be enough to save the Kingdom of Magnolia, for if they failed and Lucy would have to marry Prince Zeref of Crocus...the world would be swallowed by darkness.

The Prince wasn't like his father, who was far more reasonable. Zeref had his own set of morals and ethics that were different from others. He lived by this code and would never waiver from it. Even when he was a child, Zeref was unlike most children. Zeref was twelve years old when he and King Heartfilia were in Crocus. He was a peculiar boy with this sense of self-loathing and belittling of many others. The previous King of Crocus believed that a unity between the two most powerful Kingdoms in Fiore would be for the greater good of all. Macao and King Heartfilia might have agreed if Zeref wasn't such a dark child.

Many rumors flooded about the young prince. Macao wasn't even sure if he wanted to believe any of them. One rumor was that he was the host to a terrible demon, another rumor was that he was the devil himself and had been reborn into the human world. No rumors were ever confirmed, of course none were ever denied either. Macao always got a strange feeling in his gut when he was around Zeref though. He could never imagine someone so compassionate and honest like Lucy to marry someone so dark and cold.

Zeref was a dangerous man. He was young, unpredictable, and powerful. If he so much as wished for Magnolia to be wiped off the map, he could have his army do so within a night. Macao was worried, having the Prince of Crocus here for the exhibition games would be dangerous. Especially if he came with his arsenal of powerful mages, mainly his two Dragon Slayers Sting Eucliffe and Rogue Cheney. Macao had even heard the rumors that he had recently obtained another Dragon Slayer, and was in search of another.

"Macao?"

The man turned. "Gildarts!"

The orange haired old timer smirked and waved to Macao. "It's been a long time, old friend." The scruffy man held his hand out to Macao, who smiled and shook his hand firmly.

"Seven years," Macao pointed out with a snicker. "And you've come at a bad time."

Gildarts furrowed his brow. "Well," he shrugged, "I've always had bad timing." He laughed lightly and tightened his grip on his pack that was slung on his shoulder.

"I'd love to catch up with you, but I have to get something. Come by the arena tonight," Macao said before he started walking to the door of the mansion. Gildarts watched Macao for a moment before shrugging his shoulders again, agreeing to the invitation. With a smile, Macao waved to Gildarts and quickly entered the house. While the King was distracted with the letter from the Prince, Macao could grab the Zodiac Keys and get back to the arena before King Heartfilia could even notice they had been taken.

* * *

**-xOx-**

* * *

A powerful tempest ripped the trees from the forest and tore the earth apart. The blond dived behind a large boulder and pressed himself up against it, waiting for the wind to subside. When the wind settled after a few seconds, Laxus Dreyar looked around the boulder. A move that he quickly regretted when he was met with a kick in the jaw. He groaned in pain as he was flipped over by the kick. Laxus rubbed his jaw and cursed under his breath as he looked back to the wind user. There was no mistaking it, that young girl with the indigo hair was a Dragon Slayer. She approached him robotically, ready to strike again, but Laxus quickly flipped away and landed on his feet.

He spun around on his heels, kicking up the dirt around him as he did so. All he wanted to do was have a nice nap down by the river, but this girl had other ideas. She walked up to him, shading him from the sun. When he looked at her, he asked if she was lost or something. He had seen the glinting of light off of a knife. Barely managing to dodge her attack, Laxus questioned her purpose for attacking him. She didn't answer, she remained as silent as a grave and started bombarding him with powerful gust of wind.

The blond brawny man, wiped away the blood that seeped from the corner of his mouth. He shook his head as his grey eyes watched the girl cautiously. For someone so puny, she packed a punch. He knew it was simply because she was using her ability to manipulate wind though. Something told Laxus deep in his gut that this girl wasn't a fighter. The way her form was so lithe, she was young, and she had no battle scar on her. He assumed someone was controlling her. It was understandable that someone would want to control a Dragon Slayer, sometimes they could be quite unpredictable and dangerous, much like himself.

"Look kid, I don't know what happened to you," Laxus explained, taking in a sharp breath, "but I ain't got time for this shit." His fist were clenched at his sides and in the blink of an eye his entire body was glowing with jolts of lightning and thunder.

The girl acted quickly, vanishing within the trees. She was quick, which would make her a harder target. Somehow Laxus got the feeling that she was working for some magister in one of the surrounding cities. It was about that time when people began training their best fighters for the Colosseum Battles that would take place next summer. Normally Laxus went unnoticed since he hid within the Merchants Guild, traveling around pretending to be a humble salesman.

Laxus noticed movement on his right and raised his hand, palm facing the trees. Several bolts of lightning burnt the trees to a crisp, causing them to sizzle and smoke. Next thing he knew the girl had come up from behind punching him square in the jaw, causing him to lose balance. When she landed on the ground, she stuck her leg out and swept it beneath him, knocking Laxus on the ground.

She was about to go in for the kill, but Laxus unleashed a bolt of lightning. The girl had barely managed to dodge and did a black flip, landing a few feet away from him. Grasping her shoulder, she narrowed her eyes and glared darkly at Laxus. Using all his muscles, Laxus sprang back up onto his feet and looked at the girl. She smirked at him and unleashed a powerful wind cyclone. Laxus could only assume it was her Sky Dragon's Roar, so he matched her attack with his Lightning Dragon's roar.

When the two attacks struck each other a powerful wave of energy shot through the surrounding area. The trees waved from the blast while Laxus and the girl were thrown back from the sheer force of energy. To say the least, Laxus was impressed that some sixteen or seventeen year old girl was a match for him. He never expected that kind of power from someone so tiny. As he stood onto his feet, Laxus shrugged off his black fur lined coat and looked at the girl. She stood up and dusted the debris off her shoulders. Before Laxus had time to register what was happening, the girl came at him, clawing viscously.

Laxus tried to dodge, but it was futile. With her wind power, she was slowly cutting at his skin, slicing his clothes, and bruising him. She managed to back him up into a massive oak tree, but Laxus duck, watching as the girl's strike splintered the wood like it was nothing. When Laxus looked up, he smirked and clenched his fist tight, going straight for her jaw. Normally Laxus would not condone doing such a thing to a young lady, but she had asked for it. When his fist landed on her jaw, the girl's teeth slammed down hard.

A shocking pain went through her as Laxus allowed his electric abilities to course through her nerves. She was paralyzed and fell to the floor, crumpled like a sack of potatoes. Laxus stood over her as she gasped for air, and stared up at him with so much fear in her eyes. He furrowed his brows as the light slowly stared coming back to her eyes. Just moments ago her eyes were glazed over and she showed no emotion, but now her face was twisted with pain and fear. Laxus panted as he stared down at her.

"Where am I?" she managed to choke out. Laxus furrowed his brows, she had to have been under someone's control. When her eyes met his Laxus noticed that they were beginning to lose their light and the emotions were fading. Without a second thought, Laxus drew his fist back and punched her once again.

She slumped over and Laxus stared at her before kneeling down beside her. He brushed her hair from her face and sighed softly, if she was being controlled, he would set her free.


	20. Burn

**Author's Note: **So no one had any questions for a Q&A segment, but that's okay many of you did message a congrats and I truly appreciated that. Don't forget to vote on the poll! It will be taken down on Saturday at midnight my time. I will reveal the winning couple on the next chapter update. This chapter is the beginning of connecting all the dots, I'm so excited we've finally made it here! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Special Thanks: **ChittiD, Panda Piggy, AWK and The Akatsugirls, 12Redsky34, DatAnonymousGal, dreamer, OmegaSage037! Thanks for commenting on the last chapter! You all rock!

**Warnings: **AU. Sexual Content. Cursing. Violence.

* * *

**Burn**

Natsu sat on the back porch steps, staring blankly across the well-kept yard. His pink hair fell into his charcoal eyes, and his muscled rippled as he stretched his arms out to the side. The sunset was relaxing to him and reminded him of a beautiful campfire—like the ones from when he trained with Igneel. Tomorrow was the last day they were going to be staying, it would be his last day to be with Lucy without a wall of iron bars separating them. He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed heavily. From the beginning, he knew it would be a bad idea to get close to Lucy. They would never be allowed to be together.

It was in that light though that made Natsu desire Lucy more. She was the same girl he knew all those years ago. That care, honest, and passionate girl with knobby knees and lanky arms had grown into an elegant and charming young woman. Had the circumstances been different, Natsu would have married her by now. Unfortunately, the life of the slave was not one meant for glamour and fineries. He was mud, blood, and sweat; she was silk, finesse, and charm. Natsu gently bumped his forehead against his folded hands that were propped on his knees by his elbows.

"Dinner's ready," Gajeel said, tapping Natsu with his foot as he came up behind him. The pink haired fire breather nodded his head, but remained where he was. The iron mage raised a brow and pursed his lips before taking a seat beside him. Natsu was a huge food fanatic, it was odd that he wasn't heading inside and overloading his plate. "What's wrong with you?" Gajeel asked gruffly.

Natsu looked at Gajeel and shrugged his shoulders.

"Listen, I'm normally not one to care but your little pity party over here is ruining the already dampened mood. So just fucking tell me," Gajeel snorted, frustration evident in his voice. Natsu chuckled a bit, surprised that the stoic and brutal metal head actually cared enough to listen to him. He may have only known Gajeel for nine days, but he could see him being a friend worth having around.

"How eloquently put of you, Gajeel," Natsu remarked with an eye roll. "I'm just thinking what could have been had I not been a slave."

The pierced man beside him furrowed his brows together. "There's not point," he chided, and Natsu looked at him in confusion. "Who cares about all the what-could-have-been bullshit, just focus on the: what is. We have enough to worry about, no reason to add more bullshit." Gajeel shrugged his shoulders and leaned back on his elbows, soaking in the gold rays of the sun. "This is about Blondie isn't it?"

Natsu looked away from Gajeel and nodded stiffly. "We knew each other when we were kids, but then this happened." He gestured to the shackle bruises on his wrist and ankles. For years he'd been shackled, and he hadn't forgotten a single day of it.

"I've known Blondie for a while," Gajeel told Natsu. "She's headstrong. If she wants to be with you she'll make it happen."

Natsu smiled weakly and nodded his head. "Is that so?"

"Yeah, it is," Gajeel agreed.

"You and Levy seem pretty," he paused, trying to find the right word, "friendly?" he tried with a chortle. Gajeel's nose scrunched up. In his defense he'd known Levy for six years now, she'd always been the one to take care of him. In six years people were bound to become friendly and care about each other, it was all natural. The way Natsu was saying it though really got under his skin, but he wasn't sure why it made him so flustered. Levy was a sweet girl, she was incredibly tiny though, so Gajeel always worried one of the other slaves would take advantage of her. Of course, her charming and sweet personality usually made them behave themselves.

"What are you getting at flame head?" Gajeel snorted.

Natsu shrugged his shoulders and waved the matter off. The house had been destroyed enough yesterday, there was no need to wreck it more because of Gajeel's temper. Natsu had a temper himself, but he was just asking a simple question.

"Levy's my friend," Gajeel murmured, and Natsu turned to him smiling kindly. "After what happened to me, I stopped trusting people and believed that everyone just wanted something from you for their own benefit," Gajeel rubbed the back of his neck and smiled weakly, "she changed my mind."

Natsu nodded in agreement. He used to believe the absolute worst of people, but he too had met someone who changed his mind. It wasn't Lucy, but she did remind him there were people who cared even when they had no reason too. "I understand, I had a friend like that too."

"Blondie?" Gajeel guessed.

Natsu shook his head. "No," he frowned. "He's a lot like Macao."

Gajeel remained silent. Macao wasn't like most slave traders, he actually got to know his slaves. He studied their habits and mannerisms, he trained them well, and he fed them well. The man was almost too kind to be a slave trader. In past years during Exhibition Games and other fighting events, Gajeel had witnessed slaves who lost battles killed and discarded like objects. Macao wasn't like that though, he did everything he could to prepare them for battle. If they weren't right for him, he did his best to find them a job out in the fields rather than trading him to some abusive owner.

"What happened to him?" Gajeel asked, his curiosity spiking. To hear of someone else who could be kind to slaves was rare.

Natsu sighed heavily. "I don't know," he shrugged his shoulders and leaned back on his elbows. "He just disappeared one day. I don't know if he's dead or alive or sick…he was just gone." There was a sadness in Natsu's eyes, Gajeel could see that this person really meant something to Natsu. It wasn't often slaves got to have a connection with someone, even other fighters. When you were a slave in the arena, no one was your friend, everyone was an obstacle.

Gajeel looked to the sun that was almost hidden behind the distant hills on the horizon. "How long ago was this?"

Natsu thought for a moment. "Four or five years ago now." When he said those words he shook his head. It was hard to believe it had been that long.

"What was his name?" Gajeel inquired.

"Gildarts," Natsu answered with a weak smile. "He had the most ridiculous stories to tell. Sometimes I think they were lies, but maybe they were the truth."

Gajeel's lips twisted a bit. He felt like he'd heard that name before. Maybe it was just because he was a slave trader too and Magnolia was surrounded by four very large slave trading post, mostly because Macao knew everyone and their grandmother. He could find slaves perfect for just about any job.

"Are you two not hungry?" Levy's voice chimed in from behind. The two were so busy chatting they never caught her scent or heard her walk up. "That's unusual," she teased with a little giggle, taking a seat beside Gajeel. She brushed her blue locks behind her ear and hugged her legs into her chest, resting her cheek on her knees.

Gajeel looked at her for a moment. "Does the name Gildarts sound familiar to you?" he asked her.

Levy thought for a moment and snapped her fingers. "Yes," she said with a smile. "He was a friend of Macao's, but he hasn't been around in a long time."

Natsu's eyes burned with excitement. If Macao and Gildarts had been friends, then there was a chance Macao would know if he was alive. "Did you know him, Levy?" Natsu asked, barely able to contain his excitement.

"Sort of," Levy explained with a smile. "Why?"

Natsu beamed. "He's an old friend, I've been looking for him."

Levy smiled, but it quickly faded. "I see," she looked a bit sad when she spoke, making Natsu's expression change as well. He was worried, he didn't like the look on Levy's face. It was a mix between disappointment, worry, and sadness. "Macao lost contact with Gildarts seven years ago, he tried searching for him and asked around for months. No one had seen him."

"The last time I saw him was almost five years ago," Natsu explained, trying to revive a little bit of a flame. He didn't want to simply give up, Gildarts had taught him just about everything new about magic and hand-to-hand combat. That man was like a father to him, he owed him. Natsu needed to know he was okay or if he was dead. "I have to know if he's dead or alive, I owe him that much."

"Are you talking about Gildarts Clive?" a female voice came from behind.

The three all turned around to see Lucy in a plain grey dress with her hair damp from a bath. She walked to them and sat beside Natsu, who stared at her with intrigue. He nodded his head, confirming that was the man he was speaking about.

Lucy pressed her lips together in a tight line. "He used to work for my father like Macao does now. He was the one who brought Erza to us," she explained.

"Do you know what happened to him?" Natsu asked, hoping burning in his eyes.

Lucy nodded her head. "My father sent him to kill Dragon Slayers all across Fiore."

The three all stared at Lucy in disbelief. She didn't want to believe it herself, but she remembered that night perfectly. It was late, but she was thirsty. On her way to the kitchen, she passed her father's office and heard voices. She stopped to listen, wondering why her father was up and with a guest at that hour.

"I want every one you can find slain," her father spoke roughly, slamming his hands down on his desk. "We can't risk _him _getting anymore to use against us."

"I understand, your highness," Gildarts spoke clearly. "Consider it done."

Lucy bit he lip and sighed sadly. "That was the last time we saw him. That was seven years ago. He sent a few letters, but in the past three years my father lost contact with him." She looked down at the ground and rested her arms on her knees. "I'm sorry, Natsu."

The look of defeat was etched on his face. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "That doesn't mean anything," Natsu declared, slamming his fist on the steps of the porch. "He could still be out there somewhere."

The back door to the house came open loudly and heavy footsteps approached them. "What are we eating outside today?" Gray inquired, crossing his arms over his bare chest. Everyone quickly looked to him and spotted Jellal standing beside him. "I mean that's fine and all, but I spent a long time setting that damn table with Erza snapping at me for every miss placed piece of silverware, and I'm damn proud of the finished product. So if everyone could please go inside and eat, I'd really appreciate it." The ice mage jerked his thumb to the back door behind him and waited for the four on the porch steps to say or do something. Jellal chuckled and shook his head at Gray's little outburst and turned on his heels, heading back into the house.

Gajeel stood up and held his hand out to Levy, pulling her up with ease. "Alright, popsicle we're coming." The two walked in and Gray followed behind Gajeel, grumbling about the nickname the iron mage had given him.

Lucy stifled a laugh and shook her head. She looked at Natsu, who seemed very sullen beside her. "I'll help you find him," the princess assured him. He looked at her smiling face and she nodded, standing onto her feet. "I don't know how you knew him, but if he was important to you, I'll help you find him. I promise." She held her hand out to him, and Natsu smiled weakly before taking her hand.

Lucy heaved him onto his feet and started walking over to the back door. When she pulled it open, she looked to Natsu. He was still standing by the porch steps, looking out to the horizon line that had almost faded into a night sky.

"You coming?' Lucy asked, resting her head against the edge of the door. Natsu turned to her and smiled, nodding his head. He walked over to her and placed his hand on the small of her back, leading her into the house.

* * *

**-xOx-**

* * *

The door to the small cabin swung open. The two sitting at the round table in the middle of the small kitchen turned to the person, who so rudely kicked the door open. In the middle of the doorway, a muscled man carrying a young woman in his arms, shook the fur lined hood from his head. His eyes fell on the two elderly people sitting at the table, who seemed shocked by his entrance. One was a strikingly small man with a white mustache and equally white hair and a wrinkled face. The other was an older woman of average height with a slim build and dark pink hair. The old man stood up from his seat and stared at his grandson, Laxus Dreyar.

"What did you do?" Makarov, the old man, asked in shock. He could see the girl's face was swollen.

"She attacked me," Laxus clarified before his grandfather could jump to any conclusions. "I think she was under some form of mind control. She should be free of it now." Laxus walked past his grandfather and took the young girl to the small bed in the far corner of the small home. He laid her down gently and stared at her for a moment before turning away to look at his housemates.

"How can you be sure?" Porlyusica asked. She stood up from her chair and walked over to the bed. Her red eyes carefully examined the girl.

"Cognitive Recalibration," Laxus answered simply.

Porlyusica blinked a few times before looking back at Laxus.

"Means hitting their head very hard," he stated.

"I know what it means," she chided with an eye roll. "I'll make a salve to help the swelling." The old woman walked over to the kitchen and started to dig around on a dusty old bookshelf for some ingredients for her salve.

Laxus put his hood back up and started for the door of the small cabin. Just as he was about to exit his grandfather called to him. He stopped, but kept his back to the old man. "Where are you going?" Makarov inquired, walking towards his grandson.

"Out," Laxus murmured. He took a step, but Makarov told him to wait. The blond man huffed and crossed his arms over his chest, spinning around to face his grandfather. "What?" he snorted, successfully annoyed with the old timer.

"You can't just bring this girl here and leave," Makarov stated firmly.

Laxus rolled his eyes. "Yes, I can," he replied as he opened up the door and stepped out of the cabin. "Like so." He slammed the door shut and left, Makarov shaking his head and muttering about his grandson's morals.

The old man rubbed the back of his balding head and looked back to Porlyusica. She was setting her mixing bowls on the table and laying out her ingredients. When Makarov sat back down at the round wooden table, she stared at him for a moment. As of late, Laxus has been acting a bit strange. He hardly came home and when he did, he never stayed longer than an hour or so. Makarov wasn't sure what he was up too, but he intended to find out. For all he knew Laxus had found himself a girl, but Makarov found that unlikely since his grandson lacked a sense of propriety.

"He's a good man, Makarov," Porlyusica chimed, gaining the old man's attention. "He may not come around anymore, but you've trained him well." She poured some liquid into a mixing bowl and added a few leaves and flower petals. As she was mashing the mixture together, Makarov considered her words. Laxus had been out of trouble, in fact Makarov never heard about him. If Makarov didn't know better he'd assume his grandson was a ghost.

"That may be true," Makarov began. "But he can't just waltz in here, leave a young girl and leave." The old man gestured to the unconscious girl. "Especially after claiming she could have been under someone's mind control."

"Perhaps he's going to find out who is controlling her," Porlyusica suggested with a shrug as she sprinkled some powder into her mixture. That was another fair point, Laxus had a lot of pent up energy and needed a way to get it out. Sometimes the life of a merchant wasn't enough for Laxus; he was a Dragon Slayer after all. "You've heard the rumors, haven't you?" the pink haired woman asked.

"You mean about nobles hunting down Dragon Slayers," Makarov muttered, shaking his head. Before Dragon Slayers were barely known of, but when the King of Crocus had exploited them every nobleman sought them out. And what for? Money, power, and a title of having a champion fighter in the arena. Not long after that, some nobles even sent people out to wipe out Dragon Slayers, fearing there magical abilities. "Hundreds of years ago, Dragons were seen as powerful and dangerous creatures, but they were respected. Over time they began to hate the human race and attacked, but some still had hope for them. These few dragons became legends, practically gods and goddesses. They taught orphan children how to slay them, now very few remain because of the sheer stupidity of nobles."

"He may be looking for his father," Porlyusica commented as she went to the cabinet and pulled out a basket of fresh bandages and gauze pads. She put them on the bedside table and sat down on a small stool with her mixing bowl in her hands.

Makarov could agree with that. Laxus has been searching for his father for some time now. He wanted to ask his father a simple question, one that Makarov already knew the answer too. Laxus wouldn't accept what Makarov said, he wanted to hear the answer from his father whether it was the same or not. The question burned Laxus deep down in his core. His father had cursed him with a lacrima of dragons.

"Laxus is going to get himself killed," Makarov mumbled.

"His father made him what he is," Porlyusica pointed out as she dipped a gauze into her mixture to place on the girl's eye and jaw where Laxus had struck her. "For the past thirteen years, Laxus has been sought after by slavers and crooked politicians. And it's all because of his father." She laid the gauze over the girl's eye and bandaged it down.

Makarov nodded solemnly. He understood why Laxus did what he did and acted the way he did, but he couldn't keep it up. Eventually he would have to just accept what was, rather than going after what could have been. "I just wish he'd stop," Makarov admitted softly, pinching the bridge of his nose. "If slavers capture him, there is nothing we can do about setting him free."

Porlyusica finished bandaging up the young girl and carefully covered her with a hand sewn quilt. "That's Laxus's choice." The pink haired woman gathered up her items and went over to the small sink to clean up her bowl. "Sometimes a person just has to do what they have to do."

"I suppose you're right," Makarov said, looking at Porlyusica. "I just don't want him to get hurt or do something he'll regret."

"Makarov," the woman sighed heavily. "You can't protect him forever." She finished washing out her bowl and began to dry it with a small dish cloth.

"But I can try," Makarov assured her, clenching his fist on the table.


	21. Hunted

**Author's Note: **Hey there everyone! This chapter was fun f or me to write because the main plot is finally here! Yay! So I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Also for the poll, Natsu & Lucy was the pairing that won, can't really say I'm surprised about that haha. I will work on a one shot for them as promised. Hopefully I will have the next chapter up in a few days, until then take care and enjoy!

**Special Thanks: **OmegaSage037, AWK and The Akatsugirls, Launi9, dreamer, Celtika82, and Pink Sunset 26!

**Warnings: **AU. Sexual Content. Cursing. Violence.

* * *

**Hunted**

The sun seeped through the small crack in the drapes, pouring onto Natsu's face. His eyes slowly fluttered open, and he sat up slowly. When he rubbed his eyes, he looked over to the other cot across the room. Gajeel wasn't there though and it appeared as though the bed had been untouched all night long. He didn't see Gajeel much after dinner, so Natsu just assumed he was with Levy and that other girl. As Natsu got out of the bed, he stretched his arms out and walked over to the small sink. He turned on the water and cupped his hands beneath it. After a few splashes of cool water on his face, Natsu felt a little refreshed. He dried his hands on a small towel and quietly left the room, he didn't want to wake anyone.

Natsu got up to the main hall and looked at the makeshift door, Jellal and Gray had made the other day. He walked down the hall and stared at the window that was still broken. They were supposed to fix that today as well as clean up the room upstairs. That little girl was a whirlwind, if Gray didn't get her outside she probably would have blown the roof off. Natsu had never heard of Jose Porla, but he knew Dragon Slayer destruction when he saw it. There was no way that girl had just been an ordinary wind mage. He had asked Gray about the girl and Jellal and Erza, they seemed to agree she had to have been a Dragon Slayer.

"There's a glass blower just down the road," Jellal's voice came from the back porch. Natsu walked over and saw that the blue haired man was speaking with Gray. He stepped out through the broken window and both men looked over at him. "See if he can do something about this," Jellal explained to Gray, getsuring to the destoryed window before them.

Gray nodded and looked to Natsu for a moment. It was like he wanted to say something to him, or ask him a question. The dark-haired man opened his mouth to speak, but closed it and shook his head. He turned on his heels and started for the porch steps. Tied to the tree across the way was a chocolate-colored horse, which Gray mounted and rode off with. Natsu looked back to Jellal, who had the same look on his face; a look caught between question and statement. The Dragon Slayer, assumed it had to do with his and Lucy's relationship, or lack thereof.

"Something you wanna say?" Natsu prompted, walking to the white wooden railing of the proch. When he leaned back against it, his eyes drifted over to Jellal. The blue haired man stared at him for a little bit and pursed his lips. "I'm sure Gray and you talked about me and Lucy."

Jellal let out a small sigh and walked over to Natsu. He leaned on the railing beside him, pressing his back against it, while Natsu faced out towards the garden. "She's a Princess, Natsu." Jellal looked to the slave and shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever it is that's going on between you two it has to stop. She isn't merely a commoner, she has responsibilities and a reputation to uphold."

Natsu snickered and ran his hand through his hair. "I know that," he licked his lips, "I even told her the dangers of this...or whatever this is."

"Lucy isn't going to stop," Jellal said. "She's hardheaded that way."

Natsu chuckled. "So I have noticed."

Jellal stifled a laugh. For as long as he had known Lucy she'd always been headstrong. When she had her mind-set on something, nothing was going to stop her. It was something he liked about her, but something that he also couldn't stand. Lucy had been a good friend to him though, so he tried to ignore it. If it wasn't for Lucy, he wouldn't be where he was now and neither would Erza. He would probably be a slave just like Natsu had Lucy and Macao not found him, and he didn't even want to think of what would have become of Erza.

"When I was younger," Jellal began, "Erza and I were both in the same band of slaves. We had been brought here to work on the Heartfilia Plantations." The blue haired man slouched a bit and crossed one of his booted legs over the other.

"You've known Lucy for a while then," Natsu commented, and Jellal nodded in agreement.

"I was eleven years old and Erza was eight, we were just young children," Jellal stopped for a moment, recalling those long summer days out in the fields. The sun on their backs, burning their skin, the humid air, the tall wheat fields that stretched for miles, and the thick red clay that weighed down his barefeet. "One day, Lucy and her family had come out to the plantation. I don't know why they came, but Lucy had saw Erza and I that day. She came over to us while we were getting some water from the trough. She wanted to play."

"And as slaves, you couldn't," Natsu chimed in, earning a single nod from Jellal.

Jellal licked his lips. "Lucy had no friends when she was younger, her parents hardly let her leave the estate. Macao had come in and told us to spend the day with Lucy down by the river." He shook his head. "From that day forward Lucy made it her mission to get us off the plantations."

Natsu smiled. "She obviously succeeded."

"Macao was able to save Erza quickly, but he had more trouble with me." Jellal pushed away from the railing and walked over to the wooden swing bench that was chained up to the ceiling. When Jellal sat down, he leaned back on the swing and stretched his arms out along the back of it. "Erza was to be sold to a brothel when the season ended, I was to be moved to a different plantation."

"So how did you manage to become Guard Captain?" Natsu asked, intrigued with the blue haired man's story.

Jellal shook his head. "Macao didn't want me to be moved, so he bought me and placed me in the arena. I was pretty handy with a sword and about a weekinto my stay there, the previous Guard Captain had watched me practice. According to Macao, he was impressed with my skill and saw a lot of potential in me."

"So he took you in?" Natsu guessed.

Jellal nodded his head.

"And what happened with Erza?" Natsu asked.

"Macao had convinced the Queen to give Lucy a friend," Jellal explained with a small smile. "We were both lucky. Lucy begged her parents to allow Macao to take us off the market, she said we were her friends and that as our friend, she had to make sure we would be okay. To this day, Lucy still looks after both of us. Even if it could get her in trouble."

Natsu nodded in understanding and pushed off the wooden railing, turning to face Jellal. "Something tells me even if I pushed Lucy away, she wouldn't stop."

"No, she wouldn't," Jellal muttered with a sigh.

"Did she help Gray too?" Natsu asked, curious about the Ice Mage.

"I think you should ask him that," Jellal replied, standing up from the swing. He swallowed hard and looked directly into Natsu's eyes. "I know better than most that just because you are a slave doesn't mean you aren't worthy of having the best. Just...know that what Lucy or I believe won't matter to the King." He clapped a hand on Natsu's shoulder and made his way back inside.

The pink haired Dragon Slayer stood there for a moment. He wondered if Jellal was giving his approval for Natsu to be with Lucy. At first it seemed like Jellal was trying to push him away, but now he thought different. Perhaps Jellal was just trying to warn him, he understood very well that Lucy was royalty and her reputation was important. If people discovered her with a slave, it could ruin everything.

* * *

**-xOx-**

* * *

Levy woke up with a mild pain in her neck. As she sat up, she realized she had fallen asleep on Juvia's bed. She ran her fingers through her unruly curls and looked up at Juvia, who was still sleeping soundly. Levy stood up from the chair she had been sitting in and turned towards the foot of the bed. Her eyes widened in surpise of seeing Gajeel sleeping in the chair beside the window with his feet propped up on the coffee table. The petite blue haired girl smiled warmly and quietly tiptoed towards the door. She wanted to freshen up a bit before trying to wake Gajeel.

"Wait."

Levy frozen, her hand just inches from the knob. She swallowed and slowly turned around to the sound of the bed squeaking. Her eyes landed on Juvia sitting up and swinging her legs to the edge of the bed. Instinctively, Levy rushed over to her and kept her down on the bed. Her injuries were still fresh and if she moved to quickly, she could risk opening them up again. Levy asked her to remain in bed, but Juvia refused her and tried to get up again.

"Please, you are in no condition," Levy pleaded, pushing Juvia back down.

"Let me go!" Juvia cried out, successfully waking up Gajeel. "I have to get away! Let me go!" The blue haired girl with ivory skin managed to shove Levy away and stood up. Gajeel got up from the chair he had slept on and ran to the door, blocking Juvia's way from running out. She froze when she looked at his pierced face and arms.

"Juvia stop," Gajeel commanded, trying his best to sound friendly. The young woman's dark blue eyes met his red ones and realization started to sink in. "You're safe now. Just calm down, Levy can help you." He put his hand on her good shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Gajeel?" she murmured, and he smiled weakly nodding his head. Juvia's tear pricked at her eyes. She wrapped her arms around Gajeel and began to sob loudly, surprising him and Levy. He looked over at Levy, who frowned and walked over to them. Juvia only sobbed louder when Levy gently patted her back, trying to comfort her. The dark haired man swallowed and slowly encirled his arms around Juvia.

"Juvia," Gajeel said, pushing her away from him. He brushed her tears away with his calloused thumbs and looked into her eyes. "I know it's hard, but you need to tell us why those men where after you? Was it Porla?" he inquired, trying to be as gentle as he could be about it.

Levy took hold of Juvia's hand and led her over to the bench at the foot of the bed. They sat Juvia down and after ba few moments, her sobbing subsided. "Just relax, you're safe here," Levy tried with a sweet smile, patting Juvia's knee as she knelt down in front of her. Gajeel agreed with Levy and remained standing in front of Juvia with his arms crossed in front of his chest. "I'll go get you some water, okay?" Levy said softly before quietly leaving the room to fetch some water for the terrified and exhausted girl.

Juvia nodded and watched Levy leave before looking back at Gajeel in all his muscled glory. He hadn't changed much at all since she had last seen him nearly six years ago. His skin was tanner, there were a few more scars, but he was the same pierced dark haired man with demonic eyes she knew long ago.

"What happened, Juvia?" Gajeel pressed, this time being a little more pushy. "I need you to tell me."

Juvia took in a sharp breath and slowly let it out. "They're being hunted."

"Who?" Gajeel asked with furrowed brows. "Porla?"

She shook her head and brushed her hair behind her ear. "Dragon Slayers."

Gajeel tilted his head. "By who?"

The door came open and both looked as Levy came in with a glass of water in her hand. She quietly shut the door and walked over, handing the glass to Juvia. With a small thanks, Juvia took the glass and sipped on it.

"Juvia," Gajeel hissed, causing the girl to flinch.

Levy glared at Gajeel and shook her head. "Take it easy, Gajeel, she's been through a lot. Give her a little time to think and breathe."

Gajeel looked at Levy and sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "She said Dragon Slayers are being hunted." The brown-eyed girl gasped and looked at Juvia, who took another small sip of her water before resting the cup on her lap.

"I don't know who exactly, but that's what Porla is doing." Juvia shook her head and felt tears coming to her eyes.

"What are they hunting them for?" Gajeel inquired, kneeling down in front of Juvia, meeting her dark blue gaze. When she didn't answer and looked away, Gajeel reached for her face and forced her to look at him. "Juvia!" he growled.

"Gajeel! Stop!" Levy scolded, slapping his hand away from Juvia. "Can't you see she's terrified?"

The Iron Dragon Slayer apologized for being pushy, but it wasn't exactly comforting to here that Dragon Slayers were being hunted. Not to mention that Porla had come in search of someone, everyone believed he was looking for Lucy. She wasn't a Dragon Slayer though, so Gajeel was starting to get very confused.

"I don't know all the details," Juvia explained to Gajeel, knowing that he was worried. "I'm sorry I can't be of much help, but I do know they are capturing Dragon Slayers. Jose is only one of many."

"How many?" Gajeel prompted.

"I'm not sure...six or seven." Juvia shrugged her shoulders, causing Gajeel and Levy exchanged looks.

* * *

**-xOx-**

* * *

The sweet smell of maple syrup filled her nostrils, causing her to open up her eyes. The ceiling above was plain with a few knots from the tree it had been cut from. When she turned her head, her eyes widened at the sight of a small round table covered in steaming foods. Her stomach gurgled a bit and her mouth began to water as she sat up. A sudden wave of dizziness came over her and she groaned. Her small hand came to her head, which was beginning to throb. Everything was a blur to her, she had no idea how she ended up in this quaint little country cabin. A breath escaped her as she peeled the quilt away from her small frame and swung her legs onto the edge of the bed, scooting to the floor. When her feet were on the ground, she stood up.

"Take it slow, Laxus hit you pretty hard," someone spoke, causing the dark blue haired girl to jump. "Sorry, I didn't mean to frieghten you." She looked over to a small desk tucked away in the corner where an old man was buried in some books. His eyes scanning the page of the one opened before him.

"Who's Laxus?" the young girl asked in a shy and quiet voice.

The old man turned around on his wooden stool and stared at the girl for a moment. When he got off of the stool, the girl was startled by his small stature. He was probably half her height at best. His eyes examined her carefully as he approached her.

"How did I get here? I can hardly remember anything." She frowned and sat back down on the bed, racking her brain for memories. It was all so blank to her, the last thing she truly remembered was being captured by a senator and taken to Crocus.

"Laxus said you attacked him," the old man explained to her as he sat beside her. "He said you were possibly under someone's control."

The girl closed her eyes, searching her memories. It was all blurry and only coming back in bits and pieces. She remembered being chained in a moldy, wet stone room, she remembered a man with dark hair, and she remembered someone speaking of capturing Dragon Slayers. Nothing was really connecting though, and it scared her a little bit. When she opened her eyes, she saw that the old man was looking at her with a slightly worried stare.

"I don't remember much," the girl explained sadly. "I think I was hunting Dragon Slayers."

The old man blinked a few times. "Are you not a Dragon Slayer?"

"I am," she replied with a nod. "A Sky Dragon Slayer."

"What is your name?" he asked her.

"Wendy," she answered him with a smile.

"Would you like some breakfast, Wendy?" the old man questioned, pointing to the table loaded with fresh pancakes, orange juice, bacon, eggs, and buttered toast. She nodded happily and walked over to the table, helping herself to a plate. "You're memories will return in time. When someone puts you under mind control, things get lost."

"Lost?" she inquired as she put a pancake onto her plate.

"Yes, temporarily," he told her as he sat down in the empty seat beside her. "I am Makarov, I will help you remember." The blue haired girl nodded to him and thanked him for his hospitality.

* * *

**-oXo-**

* * *

Gildarts Clive stood before the King of Magnolia with his arms behind his back and head held high. For seven years, Gildarts had not set foot in Magnolia for many reason. All of those reasons he had just explained to Jude Heartfilia, who was sitting in his large leather chair with his hand on his scruffy chin. His dark beady eyes were staring blankly at the top of his desk. Gildarts had just informed him of a group of seven people calling themselves Hunters. They were specially trained mages, who tracked and captured Dragon Slayers. He had went on further to explain that they were hunting these Dragon Slayers in order to create a powerful weapon known as the Dragon's Stone. A powerful jewel made from the blood of 100 Dragon Slayers. Most had believed the stone to be a mere legend, but Gildarts had come to find that legend was indeed true.

"Your majesty?" Gildarts prompted, waiting for the King to say anything. "You've been silent for five minutes, sir. You need a plan of action." The orange haired man waited again. When the King turned in his chair and stood up, he walked to the window and remained silent still.

Gildarts shook his head. They were wasting valuable time, their enemy was practically on their door step. It was a lot to take in, Gildarts understood that, but they needed to come up with a plan of action before it was too late. The Exhibition Games would be in a months time, meaning that the Hunters would be there for Gajeel, and any other Dragon Slayer that were sent to participate in the games.

"King Heartfilia, you need to cancel the games," Gildarts spoke up firmly.

"Cancel the games?" the King snorted. "I can't do that."

"Why not? You're the King," Gildarts pointed out.

The King turned around from his window and looked at Gildarts carefully. "Yesterday evening, I recieved word that Prince Zeref was coming here to watch the Exhibition Games-"

"In order to see what Dragon Slayers you have in your arsenal," Gildarts interrupted with a shake of his head. "Don't be foolish, your highness. The Prince is apart of this, I just explained that to you."

"So I simply refuse him, threatening to start a war?" King Jude inquired, stepped towards his desk. He placed his hands down on the table and let his head fall between his shoulders. "I must protect my home and my family. Turning the Prince away could lead to trouble." He lifted his head and looked at Gildarts, who pressed his lips together in a tight line. Either way they risked the city and his family, but Gildarts still believed the best option was to cancel the games. If the Hunters were allowed to get more Dragon Slayers, they would be that much closer to creating the Dragon's Stone.

"You have the upper hand now," Gildarts explained with a heavy sigh. "Use it to your advantage."

"How many Dragon Slayers did you kill in these seven years, Gildarts?" the King asked, taking a seat in his leather chair.

The man swallowed hard and shook his head. "One," he answered truthfully, which made the King's eyes widened in surprise.

"Seven years, that was all you accomplished," King Heartfilia grumbled. "I'm surrpised, Gildarts."

"I could not kill the innocent, your highness," Gildarts explained. "If you will not cancel the games, allow me to train with Gajeel."

"He is not the only Dragon Slayer I own now," King Heartfilia informed the former Slave Master. He laced his fingers together and rest his chin on his laced knuckles. "I have found a Fire Dragon Slayer, Natsu Dragneel."


	22. Serenity

**Author's Note: **Hello everyone! I just wanted to ask a question. I thought it'd be nice to have a little reader interaction with this story, so I came up with a little idea. Would anyone would be interested in submitting an OC Dragon Slayer, for Gildarts little arc that will becoming up in a few more chapters? If so leave a review or send me a message! I might not do this unless there is an interest, because I already have a character in mind, but I thought this could be fun. Also be aware credit will be given and your character will only be in the story briefly. That's all I have to say for now, enjoy the chapter!

**Special Thanks: **DancesWithSeatbelts, OmegaSage037, AWK and The Akatsugirls, DatAnonymousGal, dreamer, and 12Redsky34! Your support inspires me to keep writing!

**Warnings: **AU. Sexual Content. Cursing. Violence.

* * *

**Serenity**

Jellal walked into the room where Erza was staying. She was sitting out on the small balcony with a cup of teas on the small table beside her. When she heard his footsteps, she smiled and look over her shoulder. The blue haired man smiled back at her and took a seat on the chair across from her. He leaned back and closed his eyes, taking in the warm rays of the afternoon sun. After his conversation with Natsu the other day, he'd been thinking a lot about how lucky he was. When his eyes came open, he looked at Erza. She was staring out across the gardens and distance hills. Ever since the attack, Erza had been very quiet and stayed in her room. Jellal didn't want to say it out loud, but he was concerned about her. Normally Erza would be in the kitchen baking her delicious treats, out riding some horses, cleaning, or even walking around the garden. The past three days though, she'd secluded herself. Even Lucy couldn't get her to come out and stretch her legs.

"It's our last night here," Jellal said, gaining Erza's attention. "Gajeel and Natsu got the room all cleaned up, Gray and I fixed the window down stairs, and the girls are making lunch right now. Maybe you would want to come down and eat with all of us?" he asked with a hopeful tone.

"Maybe later," Erza muttered with a small frown. "I'm just not feeling up to it." She shrugged her shoulders and brushed her long red hair over her shoulder. Jellal nodded stiffly and pressed his lips together in a firm line. He had a feeling she would give him that answer.

"What's wrong, Erza?" Jellal asked, staring at her intently. "Come on, tell me what's bothering you. And don't say nothing, because if nothing's bothering you then I don't know you." He exhaled and waited patiently for his longtime friend to answer. They been with each other since they were kids, he knew her like the back of his hand. While they may have drifted apart as they grew older, Jellal still felt that bond with the redheaded beauty.

She stared at him. "Well it is nothing," she assured him.

"Bullshit," Jellal interjected with a shake of his head. "I have a hunch that this has to do with that." He pointed to her wrists that were bandaged up. She moved them onto her lap and out of his sight, only confirming that was what was bothering her. The Guard Captain licked his lips and sighed softly.

"Just stop, Jellal," Erza whispered to him, staring at her injured wrists. While Erza tried to keep a cool and calm demeanor she was truly worried about what would happen. If her wrist didn't heal well she couldn't be a slave any longer. That was all she knew, and she was afraid that the King would get rid of her. She knew Lucy would try to protect her, but at the end of the day it was the King's decision. He wouldn't want another mouth to feed if they couldn't earn their keep.

The handsome man reached over and gently touched Erza's arm, gaining her attention. "Whatever you are worried about, don't," he told her with a soft smile. "You're going to be fine." As he pulled his hand away, Erza just stared into his eyes. They were the same eyes he had when they were children. She always managed to find comfort in her brown-eyed stare. Even though he'd grown into a powerful man, who had witnessed many terrible things he still had happiness in his eyes.

Erza looked away after a few more moments and sighed softly, shaking her head and stifling a laugh. "You may be the Captain of the Guard, but you are still that soft little boy I knew years ago."

Jellal smirked and shrugged his shoulders. "I guess, I can't be any other way around you."

Erza felt her cheeks burning up a bit. It was very unlike Jellal to be so forward, normally he was more subtle. "You really think my wrist will heal?" she asked.

Jellal nodded his head. "I do, and even if they didn't Lucy and I would never let the King sell you." He stood up from his chair and walked to her. When he knelt down in front of her, he took hold of her hands. "It's okay to be afraid, but don't shut out your friends. You need them right now." He stood up, still holding onto her hands and gently tugged for her to stand.

When Erza stood, her red hair fell down her back, reaching just below her waist. Her dress was a pastel pink color and hovered a mere inch above the floor. She smiled at Jellal and quietly thanked him for the little pep talk. He chuckled and nodded towards the door back into the house.

"Let's go have lunch, then we can talk about the good old days," he winked as he led her inside.

"You must remember different days, because I have no good days from the plantation," Erza chortled with a scrunched up nose.

"Oh sure you do," Jellal said as he opened the door and pulled her inside. "What about the day you met me?" he asked with a smile.

"You pushed me into the pig pen and told me I should watch where I was going," Erza muttered with an eye roll.

Jellal tapped his chin with his free hand. "I don't recall that, I remember you about to run me over with a wheel borrow and then slipping into the pig pen." He looked at Erza, who huffed and made her way out of the bedroom. Jellal chuckled and jogged up to her side. "Did it happen differently?" he asked, only to earn Erza playfully shoving him across the hallway.

Jellal almost stumbled, but managed to catch himself. When he looked back at her, he narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips. The redhead was trying her hardest to fight back a laugh, but it escaped her lips. She darted down the hallway with Jellal running after her. Just before she made it to the stairwell, Jellal caught her. He looped his arm around her narrow waist and picked her up from the ground. Erza laughed and grabbed a hold of the rail, but Jellal pulled her away from it.

"Admit it, you almost ran me over," Jellal said, holding Erza tightly against his body. He put her down on the ground, but held her where she couldn't escape or turn around. "Say it," he coaxed, threatening to tickle her.

Erza bit her lip and giggled as his hands moved to her sides, squeezing ever so slightly. "Okay! Okay!" the redhead exclaimed before Jellal began to really tickle her.

"Nope! Too late!" Jellal answered and began to tickle her. Erza wiggled and squirmed while laughing. She couldn't seem to slip free from his hold, if she fought too hard she might hurt her wrist further. "You should have just admitted it from the start," Jellal said with a smile as he continued to tickle Erza's sides.

"Okay! I'm sorry! Stop, please!" Erza got out between laughs.

Finally satisfied with his handy work, Jellal stopped tickling Erza and allowed her to get away. Upon realizing she was free, Erza went over to the wall and leaned against it, trying to catch her breath. They hadn't played around like that since they were kids. It made her happy to have a chance to be with Jellal like this again. Over time they had drifted apart, and she really hated that. In a way, Erza understood how Lucy felt. That person, who was lost so long ago, but made you feel happy and whole…was home. Jellal was Erza's home, the person who made her happy, the person who made her feel like she had a home.

Jellal walked towards Erza, staring intently into her eyes. He was just moving now, doing whatever he felt was right. His hands went on either side of her, trapping her between himself and the wall. Her eyes were locked with his, she didn't move at all as he leaned closer. His eyes slowly drifted to her pale pink lips, his hot breath brushed against her face. Her eyes began to close, his nose touched hers, and just as their lips touched Erza pushed herself onto her toes. They just melted together, fitting together perfectly, and enjoying the feeling of their lips moving together.

The two pulled away for breath moments later. Jellal rested his forehead against Erza's and smiled at her. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't wanted to kiss her for a long, long time. She had become such a beautiful and strong young woman, how could he not have feelings for her. It was just as Erza had said earlier he was still the soft little boy she knew as a child; in his eyes Erza was still the insecure little girl.

"We should get to the dining room before they start looking for us," Erza said.

Jellal nodded his head. "Yeah, let's go." He kissed the top of her head and stepped away from Erza to let her move away from the wall. As they started walking down the stairs, Erza's hand brushed against Jellal's and slowly they laced their fingers together.

* * *

**-xOx-**

* * *

It was mid-afternoon, dinner wouldn't be for another couple of hours. Gray was still full from lunch though, he probably ate more than he needed too, but that Juvia girl could really cook. Even her deserts could match Erza's, not that he would ever tell Erza that. He was sitting outside laying in the lush green grass with his hands behind his head. His eyes were facing up to the tree that was shading him. The light peaked through, moving across his bare chest as the leaves waved in the wind. Gray never wanted to leave this place, it was so peaceful and quiet. In the city it was tracking down thugs, reining in drunkards, guarding the city walls, and other tedious things that exhausted him. A yawn escaped him as he finally got perfectly comfortable in the grass.

The sound of squeaking wood filled his ears. His eyes fluttered open and squinted when the light of the sun shone in them. Just across from him, sitting on the wooden swing tied to a branch was Juvia. Her blue hair hung down her back in a slight wave, her eyes glittered in the warm sunrays, and her skin appeared like ivory. She was a beautiful girl, and Gray found it unfortunate that someone as beautiful as her was so badly mistreated. When he sat up, Juvia looked at him and her bit her lip, blushing lightly.

"I didn't mean to disturb you," Juvia said to him, but Gray shook his head. "I thought so fresh air might make me feel better." She grasped the ropes of the swing and began to push herself slightly.

Gray nodded his head, his eyes on her shoulder that was bandaged up beneath the shoulder strap of her sea foam green sundress. The material was lose and appeared like water over the curves of her breast and hips. When he realized he was staring, Gray shook his head and scolded himself inwardly. "So what are you going to do?" the lieutenant asked curiously. She was still property to Jose Porla, and there was nothing they could do about it. They might have been able to protect her for the time being, but it would come to an end as soon as they went back to the city tomorrow afternoon.

"If I go back to Porla…he'll kill me," Juvia muttered softly, tearing rimming her beautiful dark blue orbs. She shook her head and stopped swinging, her toes wiggling into the soft green grass.

"Don't go back," Gray interrupted.

"I wish I didn't have too," she admitted sadly, running her fingers through her silky hair. "I turned my back on him. Jose is far from merciful," Juvia explained to Gray, looking down at the ground in defeat.

"How did you turn your back on him?" Gray asked, standing up from his place on the ground.

Juvia looked to him, admiring his toned body. He dusted a few strands of grass from his dark colored pants and leaned back against the tree. The way the light his him and the way his muscles flexed, Juvia couldn't help herself. The blush rose onto her cheeks as she turned away from him and nervously twirled her hair around her finger. She had never been so drawn to a man physically, but he also seemed to care about what would happen to her.

"They are hunting Dragon Slayers," Juvia explained, and Gray nodded knowingly. The other night Gajeel and Natsu had been talking about it in the study. Both of them seemed angry and worried about it, not that Gray could blame them. "I have the magic ability to manipulate and create water. We found a Dragon Slayer, he was only a child maybe eight years old. We had chased him down for several days. When we finally had him cornered, Jose ordered me to subdue him." She stopped talking and shook her head, remembering the little boy's face. He was absolutely terrified as he hid behind some wooden crates. His little body trembled, his hands covered his face, he was crouched over his knees, and sobbing softly as death stared him in the face.

"You couldn't do it," Gray finished for her, and she nodded slowly as guilt weighed down on her.

"And even know, I still don't think I could do it," Juvia told Gray, looking up at him. He had come over to her and knelt down in front of her. "Whatever Jose is planning, someone has to stop him." Gray locked eyes with her and nodded his head in agreement.

"It's going to be okay, Juvia," Gray said softly and stood up. He put his hand under her chin, forcing her to look up at him. "Whatever Jose's planning, we'll stop him." He gave her a reassuring smile and slowly let his hand drop from her face.

Juvia smiled back and stood up from the swing. She looked up at him and wrapped her arms around him. He was the first person in a long time, who was a completely stranger and, yet had such a genuine and sincere aura about him. They had known each other for less than a day, but Juvia felt like she could trust Gray.

The ice mage blinked a few times as Juvia had encircled her small arms around his torso. He could feel her tears dampening his skin and slowly put his arms around her. "Thank you," Juvia whispered as she pulled away, wiping her tears from her cheeks.

Gray put his hand on the top of her head and gently stroked downwards to her upper back. "I know someone who can help you."

Juvia blinked. "Who?"

"Macao Conbolt," Gray replied.

"He's still alive?" Juvia muttered, with a confused expression spreading over her face. Gray wasn't sure he had heard her right, which made him worry. "I thought that…"

"Juvia?" Gray questioned, his concern growing faster. "What did you mean by saying he's still alive?"

"Jose had ordered Macao to be killed a month ago," Juvia stated.

"By who? And why?" Gray inquired, suddenly becoming worried for the old man.

"I don't know who, but the reason was because Macao had saved two Dragon Slayers from being captured," Juvia explained to Gray, seeing that he was worried. She looked away from him and shook her head. "Jose must have called off the hunt if you say Macao is still alive."

Gray looked at Juvia, not sure if he could really believe that Jose would call off the hunt. That man was just too stubborn to let anyone get away unscathed, especially if they got in his way. "Maybe," Gray said softly and bit his lip. "You need to tell everyone what you know about Jose."

Juvia nodded. "Okay."

* * *

**-xOx-**

* * *

Levy was curled up on the couch in the small study of the mansion. It wasn't often she got to sit in the peace and quiet while reading a good book, so she was going to take it all in with open arms. The blue-haired girl snuggled deeper into the throw pillows and let out a relieved sigh. Her tea was sitting on the small table in front of her, she had a blanket draped over her legs, a book in hand, and the perfect serene moment. When she was in the slave's quarters back at the arena, it was dank, noisy, and smelly. Sometimes she wished she could be a house slave, but at the same time she enjoyed always having the company of the fighters and Macao.

"What are you reading now?" Gajeel asked as he leaned against the door jam, crossing his arms over his chest. Levy looked over to the pierced fighter and greeted him with a smile. She waved him over, and he pushed himself off the wall. "Story time with Levy, haven't had one of those in a while," he teased as he sat down beside her. His arms stretched across the length of the couch, and Levy slid beside him, nestling into his side. To most people Gajeel was stoic, cold, and scary, but Levy new better than most that he was actually a good person. When they first met, Levy was intimidated by Gajeel, maybe even a little frightened of him. In time though, she realized he wasn't some wild animal, but a man wrongfully accused of being one.

Levy smiled up at Gajeel and rested her head on his shoulder. When Gajeel had first been brought to the arena, she was still learning basic medical practices. She was only sixteen years old and had a big responsibility on her shoulders. Macao told her she could do it though, so she did her best at it. One evening after a late practice, one of the fighters has been badly injured on his arm. Levy was cleaning up his wound to stitch it up, but accidently pressed too hard on the wound. The fighter reacted in a violent way and tried to hurt Levy. He was about to punch her, but Gajeel had intervened and knocked him back with one powerful punch.

He never said anything about it, during or after he had saved her. Since then, Levy has always been fond of Gajeel. Turns out that Gajeel felt the same about Levy, she showed him kindness when no one else would. She tended to his wounds, talked to him, and always made him special treats. Gajeel would probably never admit it to Levy out loud, but he loved her. Sometimes he couldn't even admit it to himself, not that he had said it out loud to himself either. Most of the time it was simple musings while he was training at the arena, getting a lecture from Macao as she walked by, or just watching her read at a table quietly while all the other fighters were arguing and betting their rations.

Levy closed her book suddenly, and Gajeel looked at her in question. "What's wrong?" he asked, seeing the crease right in between her brows. She looked worried, and he figured it was because of what Juvia had told them the other day.

Levy licked her lips and looked up at Gajeel. "Are you worried?"

"Worried?" he repeated.

Levy nodded her head.

"About what?"

The petite young woman rolled her eyes and scoffed. "You know what," she said with a hint of annoyance. Her little attitude outburst that happened from time to time always made him smirk. Levy McGarden was this petite little thing, but she could be a fireball sometimes.

"I'm not," Gajeel admitted. "And neither should you." He tapped her shoulder, and she sighed softly.

"If what Juvia said is true, you and Natsu could be in serious danger," Levy pointed out, but Gajeel was already well aware of that. The moment they returned to the city this little paradise, this little bit of serenity would all come to an end. Reality would set in and they would be forced to fight. Gajeel and Natsu had both made their peace with that, but their friends hadn't.

"If? It's true, Levy," Gajeel assured her, which made Levy's worry grow even more.

"Then why did he just let you guys go?" Levy asked, trying to connect the dots. "Why was he after Lucy?"

Gajeel pressed his lips together in a firm line. That was a valid question, one that he and Natsu wondered about. Jose had the perfect opportunity to strike them, but he didn't. He went after Lucy Heartfilia, but he didn't believe it was simply because she was the Princess of Magnolia. There had to be more too it, he had a gut feeling.

"I'm not sure, but we'll find out," Gajeel assured her. "For now, let's just enjoy the peace and quiet." He grabbed her book that was resting on her lap and handed it to her.

Levy took the book from him tentatively and smiled weakly. She bit her lip as she stared at him and leaned forward, placing a soft chaste kiss on his cheek.


	23. Friendship

**Author's Note: **Hi lovelies! So I wanted to thank everyone who has submitted a Dragon Slayer OC, I will be accepting more until the next chapter. So if you still would like to submit, feel free to do so! Just leave a comment saying you'd like to submit one and I will message you the form that needs to be filled out. In other news, this chapters reveals Gray's story yay! Next chapter will come soon, hope you all enjoy! Oh and I got some serious Nalu planned for it!

**Special Thanks: **12Redsky34, DatAnonymousGal, clank2662, OmegaSage037, pokepal052, dreamer, AWk and The Akatsugirls, PandaPiggy, DanceWithSeatbelts, MeGustaZeref, and ChittiD! Your comments are greatly appreciated!

**Warnings: **AU. Sexual Content. Cursing. Violence.

* * *

**Friendship**

The night was beautiful, but it was sad to think that it was the last one she would see. When the morning sun would rise, they would make the journey back to Magnolia. She had been given time to breathe and think, but while she was able to think about what her family had hidden from her for years…she only came up with more questions. The web was so heavily weaved that she figured the only way out was to start over. As she sat there on the couch with all her friends in the room with her, she wondered what would happen next. They had so much to worry about now, and it was scary to think about. There was the whole arranged marriage to the Prince of Crocus, which made her insides turn to mush. They also now had to worry about Jose Porla, who was working for some group to capture Dragon Slayers.

And then there was her and Natsu.

"Alright, alright," Gray interrupted the on-going conversation about the hunt of the Dragon Slayers. For the past two hours that's all any of them could talk about. "Let's not worry about that. This is out last night to just enjoy being, so let's just be." He looked to everyone from the chair he was sitting in.

"Gray's right," Jellal voiced with a single nod. He was sitting beside Erza on the loveseat that was closest to the stone hearth. "Let's just enjoy being here."

Gajeel popped the top of his beer bottle off. "I'll drink to that." He lifted the bottle, titling it towards the group and took a nice long swig. The Iron Dragon Slayer let out a refreshed breath and put the bottle on the small coffee table before him. His legs were out stretched beneath it with a single green colored couch as his back rest. Levy was sitting in the green couch with her legs draped over one of the armrest and her back against the other.

"I think you need this more than I do," Natsu said to Lucy, tapping her upper arm with a freshly opened beer bottle. She chuckled softly and took the bottle from him, holding it in her hands for a moment before bringing it to her lips. As the cool liquid poured down her throat, leaving a bitter taste in her mouth, Natsu sat down on the arm rest of the couch. "Everything will be okay, Luce." He gently brushed the side of her face with his hand and looked out at the group.

Everyone was just talking, telling stories and sharing laughs. It was hard to believe that outside that house was a world of darkness, yet they still had reasons to smile. For those few short hours the impending doom could wait. They would drink some beer, talk for hours, and forget about everything else. Lucy almost laughed at the thought, she couldn't stop thinking about it. Her mind was just flooded with questions and worry.

What would become of her and Natsu?

Who was after the Dragon Slayers?

Why had Jose Porla attacked?

Was there a way out of marry the Prince of Crocus?

Could she ever forgive her parents?

It was question after question, bubbling like a stew in her head. All the skeletons of her family's past had fallen out of the closet and there were way more than she thought. She brought the bottle to her lips and took another small sip. When she swallowed, she looked up at Natsu who was talking to Gray about his odd habit of undressing himself at random points of the day. Lucy giggled softly and shook her head.

"You should tell everyone that story, Gray," Jellal teased as he opened up a bottle of beer. "Tell everyone your story."

The dark haired lieutenant looked to his captain and sighed. Gray story was a bit unorthodox. "Alright Captain," Gray said after taking a sip of his beer. Juvia was sitting on the floor beside him and looked up with interest. Not very many people new Gray's story aside from Erza, Jellal, and Lucy. Everyone else in the house was clueless about the ice mage, who stripped from time to time. "Let's start from the beginning."

Gray began by telling them when he was nine years old, he was left an orphan after a demon had destroyed his farming town. His parents had been taken, most of the town had been wiped out. It was like it had never even existed in the first place. Thankfully, a lovely woman by the name or Ur had found him scrounging around for food in the small mountain village. She had caught him stealing, and he ran. That was the first time Gray had ever been introduced to powerful magic. Ur was an ice mage and had quite literally froze his feet to the ground so he couldn't run.

She had asked him where his parents were, which he only said they were gone. The woman was smart though, she quickly pieced together he was an orphan living in the small town fighting to survive. Needless to say, Ur was touched by the young orphan and could see the desire to survive glowing from the inside out. She took him in, raised him like he was her own son. Gray wasn't her only student at that time. When she brought him to her house a little further up the mountain side, Gray was introduced to Lyon. The two didn't exactly see eye to eye, but they shared one common interest learning ice magic.

"To first become an ice mage, you must embrace the cold," Gray said with a chuckle, shaking his head. "She hid our clothes from us and chunked us outside, telling us to embrace the cold." He took a sip of his beer and stared blankly at the wooden floor.

Gray told everyone that she made them take off all their clothes and stand outside in the cold for an hour every day until they 'embraced the cold' and it had stuck with him. He laughed lightly saying it was a habit he wished he could get rid of, but he couldn't seem to do it. When Natsu asked why, Gray pressed his lips together and sadness waved over him. His eyes met Natsu's and he told him that his teacher, Ur had died when he tuned thirteen. He explained it was an accident, but she was gone and when he took of his clothes it reminded him of her unconventional training.

"I'm sorry," Natsu replied. "I lost a teacher too, I know how it feels."

"And your friend? Lyon?" Juvia prompted.

Gray looked down at her. "I don't know what happened to Lyon," he admitted sadly with a shrug. "The morning after we had lost Ur, he was just gone."

"Did you look for him?" Juvia asked with a tilt of her head. Gray nodded his head, but said there was no sign of him. "Why did he leave?"

"He blamed himself for Ur's death," Gray informed. "It was an accident. It was no one's fault, Ur was only trying to protect us."

He continued with his story, telling them that after two months of searching for Lyon, he was found by a slaver's troupe. They captured him and for an entire year he was moved from plantation to plantation. He told them he had almost lost the will to live, and death was happy to make his wish come true. Everyone looked at Gray with worry as he told them he had failed to lock one of the gates, allowing the militias horses to run free.

"Sixty horses had escaped," Gray paused, "that was almost half of what they had brought in."

They had tied Gray up and dragged him to a large oak tree with might branches. It was almost noon when they slung a rope over a branch. Gray had been afraid, but he knew that there was nothing he could do. If he ran they would catch him and beat him harder. If he stayed, he was more likely to be granted clemency. At that time though, he was okay with dying. Fourteen years old and Gray Fullbuster had welcomed death and the coldness it would offer him. He would be with Ur, and maybe Lyon if he too had been lost.

Gray looked to Lucy, who smiled at him. "They put the noose around my neck," Gray mimicked the movements of a noose being put on him. "They pulled it, my toes barely able to touch the ground. I could feel my throat being crushed. I thought it was over." He shook his head and sighed softly.

Gray's vision was going spotty, but he wasn't dead yet. They were torturing him, slowly. It was disturbing that they would do this to a kid. He remembered gasping for air, trying to remain still. If he lost his footing, he risked being killed. His toes were brushing across the ground, hoping to find a rock so he could stand a little better. The flesh of his face had turned deep red and was slowly getting a bluish tinge. The men pulled the rope a little higher, Gray couldn't feel the ground, and he knew that it would be over soon. His lungs were begging for air, he could hear his blood pulsing in his ears, and soon oblivion had come for him.

"What the hell are you doing?" a man growled, pulling his knife from his boot. He sliced the rope like it was butter, and Gray fell to the ground with a heavy thud. "Why were you hanging this boy, huh?" the man barked, pointing his knife to the dozen men who had been watching Gray suffer.

"Captain Wakaba! He's not breathing!" a young Lucy cried out, shaking Gray. She had tears in her eyes and begged him to wake up, but it was futile.

Everyone looked at Lucy. She smiled at them and shrugged her shoulders. "I was coming to visit Jellal with Erza, they were out training. We were out riding," Lucy explained, gesturing to her and Erza, who nodded in agreement. "We were passing one of my family's plantations, when we heard all the commotion. Captain Wakaba was coming to greet us, when he noticed what the men were doing. That's when he went over there and broke everything up."

"And saved my life," Gray chimed in. "Granted he broke my bones to do it, but he got me breathing again."

"We took him in for a few months as his injuries healed," Lucy explained.

"And that's my story," Gray said. "I was finally free, well at least until last year when Jellal recruited me."

Jellal snickered. "Hey if you want to go back to your life of shoveling horse shit all day be my guest." The blue haired man waved the matter off, and Gray laughed lightly.

"Looks like we all have pretty fucking sad childhoods," Gajeel muttered, bring his beer bottle to his lips. For so long, Gajeel had only know how to struggle. If things were simple and easy, just given to him on a silver platter, he didn't think he could handle it. He was used to getting just enough to survive, but never more than he needed.

"Everything turned out alright though," Levy said. "We're all here now."

There was no denying that. They had made it this far and like hell they were going to give up now. Whatever Jose was planning, whatever happened in the Colosseum Battles, they would fight to the bitter end. They had each other now, they didn't have to be alone anymore.

"I purpose a toast," Lucy said suddenly, gaining everyone's attention. "No matter what happens when we return to the city tomorrow morning, we'll still be friends and we'll be there for each other no matter what." She lifted her bottle above the table in the middle of the group's circle.

"Agreed," Erza spoke out first, putting her wine glass out next to Lucy's. The blonde smiled at her friend and nodded in appreciation and looked to the others. Jellal smiled and put his beer bottle out beside Erza's.

"We're all going to die, but what the hell," Gajeel mumbled as he lifted up his beer bottle.

"Don't be such a pessimist," Levy scolded as she picked up her glass of tea, holding it out. "Friend's forever." She smiled at Lucy, who giggled and nodded in agreement.

"Through thick or thin," Gray announced with a smile, putting his bottle into the circle.

"I don't know most of you, but I could use some friends," Juvia told them with a shy smile, picking up her glass of tea from the table. She lifted up her glass and looked at everyone, who smiled back at her.

Natsu was the only one left to enter the circle. He looked at every one of his new found friends. That word made him feel weird, he had never really had friends. It was a warm sensation, he couldn't fight his smile any longer. His eyes drifted to Lucy, who nodded to him. He bit his lip and stifled a laugh as he reached for Lucy's glass of tea that she'd been drinking prior to him giving her his beer.

"To friendship," Natsu spoke as he closed the circle of drinks.

The glasses clinked together and everyone brought their drinks to their lips, swallowing the promise that had been made. A toast to their friendship, a promise to stick with each other through thick and thin.


	24. Run

**Author's Note: **Hey everyone! So sorry for the delayed, I got distracted with my newest story **Dirty Love**, it's a Gajeel and Levy fic, if you're a fan of that pairing check it out! Also in other important news I have made a tumblr ( whereiscrystel?) be sure to follow me and I'll follow back or I can find you if you want to share your username. This chapter is the last chapter before the return home, and we got more Dragon Slayers, woot! Please enjoy! Can't wait to see what you guys think! Also no more submissions for OC Dragon Slayers, I will announce the one I have chosen in the next chapter!

**Special Thanks: **12Redsky34, OmegaSage037, DatAnonymousGal, ChittiD, DancingWithSeatbelts, Celtika82, AWK and The Akatsugirls, HeartGold12, kiraito, Punkerjj27, dreamer, and MeGustaZeref! You guys totally rock!

**Warnings: **AU. Sexual Content. Cursing. Violence.

* * *

**Run**

His boots pounded on the ground, leaving shallow trenches in the mud. Rain harrowed down unmercifully, making everything blurry and the sound of the raging winds didn't help at all. He ducked under branches, wiggled through the narrow passages of the tree trunks, stumbled over the knotty roots, and slipped on the mossy rocks. Just when he found a clearing, he stopped for a moment to regain himself. There was no doubt that he was lost, but that didn't matter. All he wanted to do was escape. They had been chasing after him for several hours, each time he thought he put some distance between them, they got closer. It was a stupid cat and mouse game, and he was on his last legs. They had been at it since morning.

The weather was awful, it was dark, gloomy, and loud. He couldn't see very far ahead of himself. Water dripped down his face, soaked his clothes, making him feel heavy. His boots were filled with water after he had crossed a creek bed. Every step he took felt sloshy and misguided. He swallowed hard and tried to calm his breathing, but he couldn't help it. The adrenaline was pumping through his veins and pulsing fast. His ears couldn't detect anything aside from the rattling of the leaves from the wind and the echoing pattering of the rain. He ran his hand through his drenched auburn hair, and decided on a route to take. For the most part he had been heading north towards the kingdom of Magnolia. There was no telling how close or far he was, but he knew he was heading in that direction.

_I know you can hear me. You can run as far and as fast as you want, but I'll find you_, a voice echoed in his head, causing him to clench his fist and grit his teeth. The two men following him where nothing, but dogs of the Crocus militia. He had gone in search of his friend, who had been last seen on the outskirts of the Capital. While searching he had managed to catch the attention of the military. He wasn't sure why they showed interest in him, he had done nothing out of the ordinary. Three days later, the two following him showed up at the Inn he was staying at and tried to bring him in. He refused them, and barely managed to escape the city. Unfortunately, they followed him and kept taunting him.

_Your resistance is futile, _the other told him.

"Then fight me you bastards!" the dark eyed man growled as he stood in the middle of the clearing. He had enough running, they weren't going to stop. That left him with one option and that was to fight. If they wanted him, they would have to take him down and drag him back.

"Shadow Dragon's Crushing Fang!" A swirl of darkness lurched forward, striking the man on his chest. When he hit the ground, he quickly got back up and narrowed his eyes at his attacker.

Rogue Cheney, the Shadow Dragon Slayer of Crocus, stood before him in a stoic glory. His black trench coat covered his clothing, which was still soaking wet. Red eyes were fixated on him like a tiger hunting his prey. When he unleashed the shadows surrounding his arms, Rogue lifted his head in a proud manner, allowing his shaggy black hair to move from his face.

"Surrender now, Cobra, and we'll grant you clemency," Rogue stated firmly, gesturing for Cobra to come with him by holding out his hand.

"Fuck that noise," Cobra growled. "I'm not surrendering to you or that damn peacock."

"I'm no peacock," Sting Eucliffe, the blond darling of the Capital, chided as he approached from behind.

Cobra turned slightly to look at Sting, who was also wearing a black colored cloak partially protecting his glamourous white and blue attire that reeked of fine perfumes. While Sting may have been a fighter in the arena, a legendary one just like his companion Rogue, he was no novice to royal treatment. "Poison Dragon's Roar!" Cobra unleashed a furious wave of poison, the fumes slithered through the trees, causing Rogue and Sting to both jump away. They knew of Cobra's poison, it was deadly and caused the victim to suffer before they were finally met by death.

The storm continued on, raging like a hurricane. Cobra looked around, studying every shadow for any sign of movement. A branch snapping caught his attention as he whirled around, he was met with a fist to his jaw. Cobra stumbled back from Sting powerful punch, but he didn't get the chance to regain himself. Rogue ran towards him and ducked down low, sticking out his leg and bringing it around in a half circle to knock Cobra down. His back slammed onto the ground with a sticky slap, and the wind was knocked out of his lungs.

"White Dragon's Roar!" Sting's attack illuminated the area with white light, sending Cobra sliding back until he was slammed into a tree. He coughed and groaned as he tried to move, but the Twin Dragon's weren't going to let him.

"Shadow Dragon's Roar!"

Cobra closed his eyes and turned his head away, preparing to feel the shadows rip him apart.

"Lightning Dragon's Roar!" A spiraling wave of lightning deflected Rogue's attack. When the smoke subsided, Rogue and Sting narrowed their eyes upon seeing a muscled blonde man, standing before Cobra.

"Who the hell are you?" Sting sneered.

"Another Dragon Slayer," Rogue muttered with a small smirk. His fist were covered in a thick spiraling shadow again and his eyes were narrowed. Rogue had heard of this Dragon Slayer before, he had been hiding within a merchants guild. There had been many stories of the Dragon Slayer that created thunder and lightning. "That scar over your right eye, I've heard rumors about you. A Lightning Dragon Slayer, right?" Rogue inquired as the blond before them shoved his hands into the pockets of his dark red pants.

"Hear those rumors from a man named Ivan Dreyar?" Laxus asked.

"Ivan? Pfft, that moron has been locked away for some time now," Sting chortled. The rain had slowed into a light drizzle, but the darkness still remained. Laxus was surprised to hear that bit of information, he had been sure that his father had sent that little girl after him to kill him. "What's he to you?" Sting inquired with a raised brow, crossing his arms over his chest.

"He's my father," Laxus answered coolly.

"So the rumors are true, he created you," Rogue smirked and swiftly went in for an attack. The Lightning user didn't even so much as blink as Rogue appeared before him. Just as he narrowed his eyes three bolts of lightning closed in on Rogue. Before the dark haired man could land a hit, he jumped back. The lightning bolts followed his movements though while Laxus remained where he was.

"Get out of here," Laxus commanded to the man that he had saved. "You're Cobra right?" he asked, as Cobra shakily got onto his feet.

When he was stable, Laxus looked over his shoulder at Cobra. "Why are you helping me?"

"Let's just say I don't like these bastards," Laxus replied as he looked back to Rogue and Sting. The two were standing on the other side of the clearing, prepared to either block or attack. Cobra smirked and nodded his head in agreement, but instead of running he walked up to Laxus's side. "What are you doing?"

"I'm not going to run," Cobra explained, wiping a streak of blood from the corner of his mouth. "They won't stop until their dead or I'm dead."

"Then we lose them, killing the Prince's prized pets will only end in a hanging," Laxus explained as he closed his eyes and began gathering his magic powers into his core. He didn't want to risk killing them, not until he figured out what was going on. They couldn't get taken into custody, not yet. "Lightning Flash!"

Within seconds a bright blinding light formed around Laxus and started out stretching through the trees. The shadows all but disappeared in the heavenly glow of Laxus's lightning magic. Rogue and Sting both blocked their eyes as the light proved to be too much to handle. Cobra too was blinded by the light, but Laxus grabbed hold of his shirt collar and pulled him from battle.

Once the light faded away, Sting and Rogue looked around, seeing a few spots before their vision returned to normal. The Twin Dragons cursed upon realizing that Laxus and Cobra had both escaped from battle.

"Let's get back," Rogue muttered. "We'll find them later."

"Laxus has been hiding for a while, why would he show up now?" Sting wondered aloud. He looked at Rogue, who had been his companion for some time now. They were legends in Crocus, everyone knew exactly who they were. Sting was the loud, cocky, abrasive one, while Rogue was the more reserved and quiet one. Complete opposites, but a hurricane of chaos when in battle. They had been friends since they were young children, trained under the prior King of Crocus himself as well as their dragons.

"He must think his father is up to something," Rogue replied as they started walking back towards the city. "Undoubtedly he crossed paths with one of our hunters."

"They aren't our hunters, Rogue," Sting corrected with a shake of his head. "They belong to that ridiculous brat that wishes to call himself a King."

"One day, Sting, that tongue of yours is going to get you killed." Rogue playfully pushed Sting before stifling a laugh and continuing on his way. The blond only shrugged his shoulders and followed after Rogue.

* * *

**-xOx-**

* * *

Natsu sat at the table, staring blankly out the window. It was still early in the morning, but at least the rain had finally cleared. There was a light fog that was slithering out of the wheat fields, waving around like tendrils as they covered the dirt roads. Muddy puddles blotched the floor, the green grass was dewy, and the air was humid. It would be a sticky travel back to the city, but Natsu didn't really mind. He was more worried about their arrival, not simply because he was a slave that would be thrown back into the arena, but because of Jose Porla. He wanted something, he wanted Lucy. There was no telling why, but Natsu wanted to know.

"Oh you're up already," Lucy's soothing voice came from behind. Natsu straightened up and turned to look at her, smiling warmly as she was leaned against the entryway. Her hair was messily thrown up in a bun with a few strands framing her pretty face. When she smiled back, Natsu chuckled lightly. "Are you hungry?"

"It'll be my last good meal," Natsu replied as Lucy walked over to him. She placed her arm around his shoulder and leaned on him. He put his arm around her slender waist and hugged her. "I've heard rumors that you are an amazing cook."

"Best waffles in the country," Lucy bragged with a bright smile, winking at him before sliding from his hold and wandering to the kitchen.

"She does make the best waffles," Gray chimed in as he walked into the dining area. He stretched his arms over his head and ruffled up his messy black hair. As usual he was shirtless with his pants hanging loosely on his hips, showing off his muscled abdomen and chest along with the sexy V cut. "Especially when she puts stuff in it like chocolate chips or berries." He pulled out a chair across from Natsu and sat down. His dark eyes looked out the window, seeing the sun slowly breaking through the trees of the forest in the distance.

"Ugh Gray, put some clothes on," Lucy huffed when she turned around to look at him. She wandered over to the pantry to get some flour and sugar to start making her waffles. It was their last meal together without any rules or regulations, she wanted it to be special.

"Can I ask you something?" Natsu asked, looking to Gray.

The ice mage blinked a few times and nodded his head, gesturing for Natsu to speak.

"The Captain that saved your life, where is he now?"

Gray looked away sadly and leaned back in his chair. It wasn't a subject he, nor anyone in the City Guard liked to talk about. Just before Lucy and Erza had left for Crocus, the City Guard had been sent out on a patrol to make sure their journey would be safe. There was an attack by raiders, a large group they weren't expecting almost forty bandits against a small party of eight guards. It didn't take a warrior to realize they were outnumbered.

"He died in service a little over a year ago," Gray replied, looking up at Natsu. "He was protecting Jellal and myself."

"Why didn't you—"

"Use my ice magic? I did," Gray answered, clasping his hands together and leaning forward on the table. "The guy I fought had some sort of reflector magic, and it ended up killing the Captain."

Natsu fell silent and looked away from Gray. He felt a little guilty for even bringing it up. Footsteps echoed from the hall and Natsu turned around to see Jellal. The blue haired man looked at Natsu for a moment and then glanced at Gray. "I'm sorry," Natsu muttered softly and got up from the chair. "I'll go warm up the horses for the trip."

"Don't you want to eat first?" Lucy asked as she walked out of the pantry with her hands full of scratch items for her homemade waffles.

"Yeah, I'll come back in a little bit. I wouldn't miss one of your meals even if I wanted to," Natsu replied with a cheerful smile before quietly leaving the room.

As soon as Natsu was gone, Lucy and Jellal looked at each other and then turned to look at Gray. "Don't do it, Gray," Lucy said softly as she walked over to him. "Don't punish yourself." She placed the items she was carrying on the table and put her hand on his shoulder.

"I was never supposed to be in the City Guard, but he always asked me to join it. I just wanted to work in the stables and armory," Gray spoke as he looked to Jellal and Lucy, who nodded knowingly. "I joined up because I owed him. That mage…I'll find him."

Juvia was on the other side of the wall, her back pressed against it. She had heard the whole story, but remained silent. He had spoken of a mage with reflector magic. Juvia bit her lip and wondered if that mage was the same mage who had come to Jose a couple of months ago. She was so lost in her thoughts she didn't even notice Levy and Gajeel staring at her. When Levy called her name and tapped her shoulder, Juvia jumped and gasped.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," Levy said with a light laugh. "Are you okay? Before we set off, I want to redress your wounds as well as Natsu's and Erza's." The petite blue haired girl, patted Juvia's good shoulder gently and ventured into the kitchen.

"What's wrong?" Gajeel asked with a raised brow. He knew Juvia well enough to know when something was on her mind.

She smiled at him weakly and shook her head. "It's nothing." With those words, Juvia moved away from the wall and made her way into the kitchen. She offered her assistance that way Gajeel couldn't ask her further. When she looked over her shoulder, she spotted Gajeel looked at her slightly confused.

"Gajeel," Jellal came forth and nodded to the burly dark haired slave. "On the way back—"

"Yeah, yeah, gotta shackle me and the fire lizard," Gajeel snorted, waving the matter off. He ventured over to the table, while Jellal remained where he was. The blue haired man spun slowly on his heels and pursed his lips.

"Good glad we have that understanding," Jellal said with a sigh.

"What's wrong with you, Popsicle?" Gajeel asked as he sat down beside him. Gray looked at him, but got up and walked away. The red-eyed slave furrowed his brows, but shrugged it off. They were heading back to the city today, there was no need to try and get to really know each other. Even though last night they promised to stick with each other, Gajeel knew that it would never happen.

"Well everyone sure does seem moody this morning," Lucy murmured as she poured the flour and sugar into a mixing bowl. "Everything's going to be okay right?" she asked no one in particular, but looked amongst everyone.

"Of course," Jellal spoke up since no one else would.

"Get back to reality Captain," Gajeel growled.

"Gajeel!" Levy scolded.

The red-eyed slave looked at her and shrugged his shoulders. "We can all pretend as much as we want, but at the end of the day. We're slaves, your military, and she's a princess." He pointed first at himself, Levy, and Juvia, then to Jellal and Lucy.

No one spoke after that.

* * *

**-xOx-**

* * *

"How much do you know?" Laxus asked as he and Cobra hid in the ruin of a small village about two hours outside of Crocus. The blond had his fur lined hood up and glanced over at Cobra.

"Know?" Cobra repeated in question. He didn't know much of anything other than his friend was missing. "I just went to Crocus to find my friend, then those two started chasing me. I don't know anything."

"Is your friend a Dragon Slayer?" Laxus asked, leaning against a stone wall covered in flowering vines.

"No...not exactly," Cobra answered hesitantly, avoiding eye contact.

Laxus raised a brow. "What does that mean?"

Cobra sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "She can shape shift into a serpent like creature." He looked at Laxus, who pursed his lips and nodded. "Why does it matter?"

"They're hunting us," Laxus replied. "I'm not sure why, but they are." He pushed off the wall and walked up to Cobra, standing arm's length away from him. As they stared at each other, Laxus took in a deep breath and looked at the ground shaking his head.

"So what now?" Cobra asked.

"You either come with me or we go separate ways." Laxus turned on his heels and walked away, leaving Cobra to make a decision.


	25. Tantalizing

**Author's Note: **Hi there friends! I'm so sorry for the delay in getting this chapter up! I received many request for NaLu, so here is an entire chapter dedicated to the couple. I hope you all love it, I can't wait to read your reviews. Also I have chosen a OC Dragon Slayer, before I announce the character I have selected, I wanted to thank everyone who participated and submitted a character. So many thanks to everyone who submitted and I hope even if your character didn't get picked you continue on with this story. Without further adieu, the character I selected is **Pearl Marmor **by **12Redsky34**! Congrats to you, and once again thanks to everyone who participated I loved reading all the submissions.

**Special Thanks: **DatAnonymousGal, OmegaSage037, AWK and The Akatsugirls, XxDrAGonSLaYerXXx, DancesWithSeatbelts, 12Redsky34, TheStoryTeller567, dreamer, Inferno 621, MeGustaZeref, and lovelyleveret! Your feedback keeps me going!

**Warnings: **AU. Sexual Content. Cursing. Violence.

* * *

**Tantalizing**

Natsu stood in the middle of the aisle way of the six stall barn. Three stalls lined the left and right side of the barn. There was a dusty old tack room on the right side at the end of the barn. The two entrances were pushed wide open, allowing in a cooling breeze and warm morning light of the sun. Four horses were quietly standing in their stalls, looking out their small windows at the open pastures and rolling wheat fields. Petrichor scents filled the air, love birds chirped their melodies, and dew glittered on the grass. He clicked his tongue as he opened up one of the stalls and placed a rope halter around the roan colored draft horse with a thick silky mane. The horse nickered as Natsu led the horse out and tied him to the metal bar screwed on the stall. Natsu whispered to the horse and smelled, gently running his hands over the horse's face. The horse lowered his head and snorted softly, causing Natsu to chuckle.

He quit petting the large creature, whose shoulders reached the top of Natsu's head. Ducking under the horse's mighty neck, Natsu walked over to the tack room to grab a brush to clean him up before taking him out for a walk. He pulled off his shirt and laid it on a bale of hay that was set outside of the tack room. When he open the door, he coughed a bit at the dust that exploded in the room. He waved his hand in front of his face and spotted the brushes resting on a shelf. They were covered in an inch worth's of dust and the room was rather stuffy and moldy smelling. Natsu scrunched up his nose as he took the few short steps across the room and grabbed the brush.

"This brush is dirtier than you, buddy," Natsu said with a light-hearted laugh as he walked back to the horse. The creature's ears flicked in Natsu's direction and he nickered softly. "Don't worry, I'll make sure you're nice and clean." The pink haired man smiled brightly and walked to the open door of the barn. There was a spigot out by the front entrance of the barn, so he would wash it off before brushing down the horse. When he got to the entrance, he stopped and leaned against the jamb. He took in the sight of the beautiful country side mansion, the spaced out knotty sycamore trees, the rolling wheat fields, and the endless blue sky that must have been the biggest one he'd ever seen.

It would be a lie if he said he wouldn't miss this place. The place he could be with Lucy and actually be with her, the place where he had friends, a place where he didn't have to fight anymore, a place he could be happy. It was an appealing thought to stay and never leave, or runaway, but he knew that reality would catch up with him. Natsu shook his head, perishing the thought of living a happy peaceful life. He walked to the spigot sticking out of the wall and crouched down, twisting the knob. As the water pour out, Natsu stuck the dusty brush under it and cleaned it off.

Once he was satisfied with its cleanliness, Natsu shut off the water and went back inside to get working on the horse. There wasn't much time before they would have to head out, probably right after breakfast was finished. He kept thinking about the previous night, the promise that they made. Part of him wanted to keep that promise, but at the end of the day he knew it was just wishful thinking. Gajeel and he would eventually be forced to fight to the death, Lucy would go back to her royal duties, Jellal and Gray would return to guarding the city, and they would all forget their promise.

Natsu started brushing the horse down, thinking about what would happen next. He was a Dragon Slayer, Gajeel was a Dragon Slayer, and Juvia claims they were being hunted by some group. The reason was still unclear, but there was also Lucy. Jose was after Lucy, but no one was sure why. Natsu moved to the other side of the horse and continued to brush him down. When they arrived back in Magnolia, Natsu planned on telling Queen Layla and Macao everything that had happened. Once he was back in that arena, he would have no power to protect Lucy. If he so much as mentioned her, he risked being locked up in solitary confinement for three days with no food or water. Though he was sure if the King found out about them, he'd certainly kill him.

"Alright, let's go for a little walk," Natsu said to the horse as he finished brushing him down. He untied the horse and walked him out of the barn, placing the brush down on a bucket.

"Natsu," Lucy called out just as Natsu was about to climb onto the horse's back. He stopped and smiled, waving to Lucy as she approached them in her pretty light blue dress. Her hair was in cute little pigtails falling just past her shoulders, and her eyes were sparkling in the sunlight. "Breakfast is ready. Jellal says we'll be leaving in about an hour."

"I'll be in in a little bit," Natsu assured her as he placed his hands on the horse's withers and effortlessly swung his body up onto the creature's back. Lucy's eyes widened in amazement. She knew a thing or two about mounting a horse bareback, but it would take quite a bit of strength to mount a draft horse. Natsu had the muscle and power behind him though, she could see them flex and ripple as he slung himself onto the horse's back. "Never seen someone mount a horse before?" Natsu teased as Lucy was staring at him unblinkingly.

Lucy blushed and looked away, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Of course, but not a draft horse…and shirtless," the princess remarked with a snicker as she crossed her arms over her rather busty chest. "Why…uh, are you shirtless?" she asked him, biting her lip nervously as she glanced at his bulging arm muscles, well defined abs, and smooth the smooth plain of his chest. The desire to touch him was almost unbearable, but she had to keep it together.

"It's hot and it was really dusty in there," Natsu replied as he pointed to the barn. His charcoal eyes never left Lucy's pretty brown one's though, she was so beautiful. He would never get tired of looking at her, hearing her laugh, seeing her smile. Though they didn't have much time, Natsu wanted to be alone with her. He held his hand out to Lucy, asking her to come with him.

"What?" Lucy stifled a laugh as Natsu held his hand out to her, hoping she would take it.

"Just you and me, we'll be back within the hour." Natsu kept his hand out and nodded to Lucy, assuring her that everything would be okay. The blonde bit her lip and hesitated for a moment, but smiled and nodded as she took hold of his hand. When he gripped her hand, he effortlessly pulled her up behind him. She let out a breath and stared at Natsu, who was looking at her over his shoulder. He smiled at her and looked in front of him. "Hold on tight, Princess." He clicked his tongue and gently tapped the horse with his heels.

Lucy gasped as the horse broke into a lope, heading straight down the dirt road. She wrapped her arms around Natsu's torso and beamed as the world around them blurred together. Her hair bounced on her back, the skirt of her dress flying freely in the wind, it was almost like they were flying. The pink haired man chuckled and urged the horse to go a little faster as they made their way down to the river.

Slowly, Lucy unwrapped her arms from Natsu's body and stuck them out to her side. A big smile spread across her face, and she began to laugh. It was a freedom she had never experienced before. All that laid before them was the endless horizon. That moment was like a dream, one she never wanted to end. Unfortunately it had to end so, this new world that Natsu brought to her would be simply a fairy tale. It was where she wanted to be, somewhere wonderful, somewhere magical, and it was all for them. Natsu pulled the horse to a stop when they reached the top of a hill that overlooked the plantation down below.

"Do we really have to go back?" Lucy asked as she put her arms back around Natsu, resting her head against his bare back. It was so warm, so muscled, and smooth, she could hold onto him forever. "Can't we stay?" she asked him with a light hearted laugh.

"I wish," Natsu admitted truthfully, placing his hand over hers. They were so soft, gentle, and warm. He loved her hands, the way they moved against his skin. Natsu had never got to feel something so soft and gentle. As a slave he was used to being pushed around, laying in itchy hay, and hardly ever getting to properly bathe. "I'm gonna miss this the food, the decent beds, the nice hot showers."

"Is that all?" Lucy asked with a raised brow.

"Yep," Natsu nodded. "That's pretty much it." He looked over his shoulder and found Lucy glaring at him. The man started laughing, and Lucy playfully pushed him. She quickly jumped off the horse and ran towards the gazeboo that was built between two loarge oak trees. "Where are you going?" Natsu asked as Lucy ran up the three steps of the gazebo, holding up the skirt of her dress.

"We have to leave in less than an hour," Lucy told him as she let her skirt down. "So get off that horse and come here."

"Ooh, I like it when you're all demanding and princess like," Natsu teased as he dismounted from the horse. He clicked his tongue and lead the horse over to a low hanging branch. With the horse securely tied up, Natsu turned to looked over to Lucy. She smiled at him and nodded for him to come to her. The handsome, muscled slave stared at her for a moment before smirking.

Lucy looked at him. Like really looked at him. He was incrediably handsome, his eyes were kind for a slave. Not resentful and fearful like most. His eyes were kind and adventerous. His skin was dry and leather like from years of being under the burning sun. Lucy didn't mind that at all though, she liked the feel of his calloused hands, hands of a hard working man. His hair was pink, an unusual color yet it was intriguing and gave him such character. The sound of his voice could send shivers up and down her spine, but also calm her when if she was absolutely terrified, His muscled chest and abdomen was sexy and alluring, she could run her hands across those plains all day. Natsu was everything she ever wanted in a man, physically and emotionally. She didn't want to lose him to the arena. To her father, to anyone. She just wanted them to be together.

"We could just run away together," Lucy said. "We could learn more about each other while traveling the world." Natsu was at the bottom of the steps, looking up at Lucy and smiled softly. He started walking up the steps and gently rubbed the side of her face. The feel of his warm hand was like a fire, tantalizing and arousing. She sucked in a sharp breath and closed her eyes, turning her head towards his touch.

Natsu cupped her face with his hands and pulled it down gently kissing her forehead. "We're going back," he told her. "And I'll be fine, and so will you." He rubbed his thumb against her cheek and smiled at her.

"And what if they're not?" Lucy asked.

"Luce," Natsu said as kindly as he could, letting his hands fall from her face. He took hold of her hands and laced his fingers through hers. Lucy swallowed hard and tears started to well up in her brown eyes. The Dragon Slayer bit his lip and shook his head, he could see her fear and worry. "Don't cry, Luce. Everything and everyone will be okay."

"Natsu," Lucy began, a single tear sliding down her cheek. "What's gonna happen to Erza? What if those men get you and Gajeel? What about that stupid arranged marriage? What about-"

"Hey, hey," Natsu shushed her, shaking his head. "We'll take it one step at a time. You can do this, Lucy." He squeezed her hands to assure her everything would be fine. It was a lie though, he was scared too. He didn't know what would happen, but he had to stay positive. Being strong for Lucy was all that mattered.

"Okay," Lucy nodded. "You're right. I can do this." She smiled weakly, and Natsu nodded back.

"We should get back, the others will be worried." Natsu was about to turn away, but Lucy tugged him back. He found himself face to face with Lucy, their breaths mixing with one anothers, the tips of their noses brushing gently. Lucy swallowed hard and looked into Natsu's eyes. He looked down at Lucy, slowly leaning forward, but stopped just a few inches before her lips. His eyes went to her lips and back to her sparkling brown eyes.

"Screw the others," Lucy breathed.

Natsu smiled and kissed Lucy. Her hands went around his neck and slid up into his hair. He lowered himself and grabbed hold of the back of Lucy's legs. Effortlessly he lifted her, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. Lucy moaned as Natsu deepened the kiss and pressed her back against a smooth wooden pillar. Her fingers clawed at his smooth back, and Natsu gripped her legs.

He pulled her away from the pillar and turned around, sitting down on the bench that wrapped around the inside gazebo that was covered in flowering vines. When Natsu sat down, Lucy pulled away for air. They were both breathless. The way Natsu kissed her made her feel so alive. It was powerful, yet gentle and so arousing that she could hardly contain herself. It was seductive the way his hands roamed over her body, squeezing her thighs, her ass, and her breast. She just wanted to feel him in every sense of the word.

"Are you sure about this, Luce?" Natsu asked in a husky voice that caused her nipples to hardened beneath her dress. She stared at him for a moment and helplessly licked her lips as she stared at his hardened chest, following it all the way down to the waist line of his pants. When she made eye contact with him again, he waited patiently for her answer. He hand his hands on her waist, supporting her on his lap. She could feel his erection press against her lower region.

Lucy took in a deep breath and slowly let it out as she got off of Natsu's lap. He swallowed hard, but continued to stare at her with this ravenous hunger to touch her, kiss her, and be inside of her. Natsu wanted to feel Lucy just as badly as she wanted to feel him. Her insides were churning and clenching with such a powerful sexual drive she didn't know how much longer she could withstand it. The need was too much, if she didn't fulfill it...she would go crazy.

And from the looks of it, so would Natsu.

As Lucy stood their before Natsu, perfecly still she slowly reached for the ribbon that held her dress to her waist. Gingerly, Lucy pulled the silk ribbon undone and let it fall to the floor like a leaf in the fall. Natsu watched her closely, licking his lips as her hands went to the straps over her shoulders. She tugged on the fabric slowly, pulling them off her smooth shoulders. The dress slowly fluttered to her feet, leaving Lucy only in her panties.

"I'm sure," Lucy answered softly as she met Natsu's eyes. He stood up from where he was sitting and took a step towards her, slowly undoing his pants. His eyes never left her face as he carefully pulled down his pants, exposing himself completely to her. Natsu smiled at her and reached for the hair ties that held her pigtails. When he pulled her hair free it fell around her shoulders just shy of her nipples.

"You're beautiful," Natsu whispered to her.

She smiled at him and licked her lips. "I think..." she paused for a moment, "I'm in love with you. Is that crazy?" she asked with a little giggle.

"No," Natsu answered as he took hold of her hands, slowly lifting them above their heads. "Because I think I'm in love with you too." He smiled and closed the distance between them.

Slowly his hands seperated from hers and gently stroked her soft skin. It was so supple and smooth, unlike anything he had ever had the pleasure of touching. She smelled like vanilla and lavender, her lips felt amazing against his own, and when her hands went to his chest and slowly moved down towards his throbbing erection, he pulled away. He let out a pleased moan as Lucy gently stroked his shaft. His hands moved to her hips, and gently brushed against her inner thigh. The touch almost put her in a daze as he teasily brushed the lips of her lower regions. Just when she thought she could take it anymore, Natsu started to play with her clit. He gently rubbed it, causing the ectasy to spread throughout every nerve of her body.

She moaned and could feel her toes curling at the deliscious pleasure shooting through her body. It was unlike anything she'd ever felt before. Natsu moved two of his fingers into Lucy, feeling the clenching of her moist walls. Her hand started moving faster against his length, causing him to growl from deep within his throat. The way her hand felt against him was the most pleasurable sensation. He knew that when he finally got to enter her tight walls, he wouldn't be able to control himself for very long.

Lucy pushed Natsu back towards the bench, making him sit down. Lucy shed off her panties that were soaked with her juices. Natsu stared at her, admiring the curves of her body, the smoothness of her skin, the sparkle in her eyes, and that curve of her lips. He never thought that he would see her again, he never thought he'd speak to her again, but there he was touching her, hearing her, being intimate with her.

Lucy let out a shaky breath. She looked down at Natsu's erection, and knew that he would fill her up. It would hurt a bit she was sure, but it would be well worth it. When she looked back up at him, he nodded to her and she smiled. Carefully, Lucy positioned herself above Natsu and swallowed hard as she lowered herself onto his exquisite maleness. Just as she thought, his cock had filled her perfectly. Lucy closed her eyes and leaned her head back as Natsu slowly started moving himself in and out of her. Following his lead, Lucy moved along with him in a steady rythm the pace slowly getting faster and faster. Lucy moaned in pleasure, gripping Natsu's shoulders as he pushed deeper and deeper inside of her. Her walls clenched around his cock, making Natsu groaned and bury his face into her breast. He took this chance to gently nip and lick at her hardened nipples. His one hand massaging her free breast and the other rubbing her clit.

Lucy was in pure bliss, she could feel the tension becoming tighter and tighter. She was so close to bursting as Natsu flicked her nipple with his tongue and massaged the other with his fingers. Her fingers clawed at his back and Natsu growled. He pulled away from her breast and captured her lips, biting playfully. She smiled against the kiss, moving with him as he pounded into her hard and harder. Her clit was throbbing wildly, she couldn't take it much longer. Natsu started to move even faster, going as deep as he possibly could before the both reached their climax. Lucy felt warmth within her and could feel her vaginal walls tightening and loosening.

They both panted heavily as they sat there on the bench. Lucy rested her forehead against natsu's and smiled, placing a chaste kiss on his lips. He gently touched her face and brushed her hair behind her ear, kissing her one more time. Lucy swallowed hard and slowly pulled herself off of him. Natsu let out a breath and looked at Lucy, who sat down beside him.

"We better hurry," Lucy whispered. "Erza will kill you if she finds out this happened."

Natsu stifled a laugh and shook his head. "I'll tell her you commanded me too," he replied with a wink, causing Lucy to chuckle. "Lucy," he said as he stood up and gathered up their clothes. "I...I love you."

The blonde beauty smiled at Natsu and leaned forward, kissing his cheek. She was about to pull away, but stopped herself and turned her lips towards his ear. "I love you too." As she pulled back, Natsu bit his lip and stifled a laugh. He handed her her dress as he pulled on his pants. They needed to get back before the others came searching for them. Natsu wished he could be alone with her for a little longer, but he knew he couldn't.

"Let's go Princess, before they think I kidnapped you." He held his hand out to her. She tied the ribbon of her dress and nodded, taking hold of his hand. Their fingers laced together as they walked out of the gazebo and over to the large draft horse that was munching on the lush green grass. "Would you like to steer?" Natsu asked as he untied the horse.

"Yeah, let's see how much of a horseman you really are," Lucy said with a smirk as she took the lead rope. Natsu laced his fingers together and knelt down, so Lucy could place her foot on his hands. He lifted her up and she situated herself atop the large horse. "Okay, horsey let's show Natsu how a real horse rider rides." She looked down at Natsu, who laughed and climbed up behind Lucy. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her temple as she turned the horse towards the trail.

"Well," Natsu said, seeming unamused as Lucy got the horse to walk towards the trail. "If this is all you got then-WHOA!"

Natsu found himself flat on his back with the wind knocked out of him. He heard Lucy's cute laugh ringing in his ears. She had urged the horse forward just as he had let go of her waist. It resulted in a tumble into the grass with a rather loud thud. He'd been through worse though, but it still caught him off guard.

"Some horseman," Lucy teased as she turned the horse around and looked down at Natsu, who slowly sat up.

"And here I thought you were kind," Natsu replied with an eye roll, but he started laughing regardless. "Well played, Princess." He stood up onto his feet and dusted the grass blades from his pants and back. When he got closer to the horse, he quickly climbed on and urged the horse forward down the trail.

Lucy squealed and gripped tightly to the lead rope and the mane of the horse. Natsu laughed boastfully. "You jerk!" Lucy hissed as they rode the horse back towards the mansion.

"Now we're even," Natsu replied with a wink, causing Lucy to roll her eyes. In the end though she was smiling brightly. This was what she always wanted someone she could be herself around, someone she could tease, and someone she could laugh with.

After a five minute gallop across the plantation property, they found themselves coming back up to the mansion. Lucy pulled the horse to a halt as they got to the back porch. Natsu dismounted the horse first and took the lead rope from Lucy. She swung one leg over the horse and faced Natsu. He gently took hold of her curvy hips and helped her to the ground. When her feet touched the ground, Lucy pushed herself up onto her toes and pressed her lips onto Natsu's. He smiled against the kiss and wrapped his free hand around her, pulling her against him.

"There you two are!" Levy called out, followed by the slamming of the porch door.

Lucy and Natsu pulled apart and walked around the horse. The blue haired slave smiled at them and trotted down the porch steps. When she reached the bottom she put her hands on her hips and told Natsu to get inside and eat, since they were leaving in about ten minutes. Lucy agreed with her, saying he'd need to eat otherwise he'd get tired on the journey back. She offered to take the horse back to the barn where she could see Jellal and Gray were saddling up their horses. There was also a carriage that appeared to be ready to go minus the two horses that would be pulling it.

"I'll help them get ready," Lucy said, nodding for Natsu to head inside. "Go eat." She smiled at him as he nodded and thanked her before walking away.

"Where did you two go?" Levy asked with a raised brow.

"Around," Lucy replied with a shrug.

"And what did you do?" Levy pressed even further as she walked with Lucy towards the barn with the horse inbetween them. "And don't lie, I can see those stars in your eyes." The blue haired girl giggle as she pointed to Lucy's face. The Princess was without a doubt glowing with happiness and excitement.

"We just went for a ride and talked that's all," Lucy lied terribly, her blush building on her cheeks.

Levy narrowed her eyes at her former best friend. "Yeah...a ride," Levy said with a hint of disbelief and sarcasm. It was like she was hinting something, like she knew that her and Natsu had just had sex. "Was it a good ride?" Levy asked with a smirk, causing Lucy's face to turn bright red. She tried to fight back her smile, but it was useless. With Levy staring at her, she couldn't help herself.

"It was exquisite," Lucy assured, Levy who started to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Gray asked as the two girls walked up.

"Lucy just had the ride of her life," Levy chirped as she skipped into the barn to Gajeel, who was brushing off the other draft horse that would be pulling the carriage.

Gray blinked a few times and furrowed his brows, looking to Lucy in question. "Do I even want to know? I mean I think I already do, but you know what they say: ignorance is bliss."

"Yeah, don't worry about Levy," Lucy replied, waving the matter off.

"But Lucy," Gray said before she could get away. She turned to him and tilted her head in a cute way. "Even though it's a bad idea, I am happy for you."

"Thanks, Gray," Lucy smiled with an approving nod.


	26. Homecoming

**Author's Note: **Hey everyone! So sorry for the delay. For the sake of coming everything organized, this story will be updated every Sunday or Monday for some others who are ahead of my time zone. Also, I have news I have two one-shots in the works: **Ask Her **and **Falling**. One piece is a NaLu and the other Gruvia, so be on the look out for those. And be sure to check out my GaLe story **Dirty Love** if you haven't yet! Thanks for all the support everyone, it means so much to me!

**Special Thanks:** PandaPiggy, DancesWithSeatbelts, 12Redsky34, Guest, DatAnonymousGal, dreamer, Concrete Angel, OmegaSage037, and AWK and The Akatsugirls! You guys are so awesome, but you already know that right?

**Warnings: **AU. Sexual Content. Cursing. Violence.

* * *

**Homecoming**

Natsu and Gajeel had both been shackled with magic suppressors and were tied onto Gray's saddle. They were almost to the city, they could see it from the hill they were on top of. In a matter of half an hour they would be back within the city walls. Life would go back to normal for them, or at least as normal as it could be. Jellal had already taken the liberty to tell the King and Queen about Jose Porla's attack. When they got into the city, he would escort Erza and Lucy back to the Heartfilia Estate, while Gray would take the others to the arena. Jellal made it clear that they were not to tell anyone about what happened aside from the King, Queen, and Macao. No one else was to know of Porla's mutiny to the Crown. If word got out, it could send people into a panic and they could not risk that until they figured out what was exactly going on.

"I'll meet you after I speak with the King and Queen, wait for me at the arena," Jellal said to Gray as they reached the main road that lead to the cities gates. Gray looked to his Captain and nodded in compliance. "Tell Macao about Porla and about what Juvia said. We're missing a part of the puzzle, we need to figure it out before it's too late."

"I will," Gray assured his Captain and looked up ahead as the city skyline began to grow larger and larger. They were almost home, his eyes slowly glanced over to the carriage. Inside Lucy and Erza were sitting, while outside driving the carriage was Levy and Juvia. He worried about Juvia, he worried about what would happen to her. She was owned by Porla, he could use that against them. Gray could already hear Macao scolding him for allowing her to come. They couldn't just leave her though, Porla would have certainly killed her. "What about Juvia?" Gray asked as he looked straight ahead, his dark hair falling into his face.

"She belongs to Porla, if he comes for her there is nothing we can do. You know that, Lieutenant." Jellal looked at his subordinate and gave him an apologetic smile. The rules and laws of slaver owners were set in stone. If Jose Prola came looking for Juvia, he could take her back and there was nothing they could do about it. Macao could make him an offer, but the two guards knew that Macao wouldn't. It wasn't because he couldn't do it, but because she held valuable information. Macao couldn't risk keeping her, Porla would cause an uproar.

Gray licked his lips and nodded stiffly. "He'll kill her, Jellal."

The Captain moved his horse in front of Gray's halting everyone in the middle of the main road. "We're on the brink of a civil war, Gray. He's after Lucy for some reason and supposedly capturing Dragon Slayers," Jellal was stoic as he spoke. Though he was friends with Gray and though he understood his Lieutenant's concern, they had to prioritize. "First we deal with that, everything else doesn't matter. Are we clear?"

Gray narrowed his eyes at Jellal. "Yeah," he answered bitterly. "Perfectly clear." The Lieutenant moved his horse around Jellal's and continued on his way. Jellal watched as they passed him and sighed softly.

"Is everything okay?" Levy asked as she steered the two horses up to Jellal.

"Yeah, Juvia you'll continue on foot from here," Jellal said to the other blue-haired girl. "Go with Gray to the arena, we'll meet you there soon." She looked at him for a moment, but smiled and nodded her head. As she climbed off the driver bench, she walked up to Jellal and looked up at him.

"I understand the risk you all are taking for bringing me here," Juvia explained to him, and all he did was stare down at her. "I just…thank you." She looked away from him and started walking down the road, following behind the other three.

"Juvia," Jellal called out.

She stopped and turned around to look at him.

The Captain swallowed hard and looked at her. She was just the young woman, who had done nothing wrong. It was simply that she was in the wrong place at the wrong time, just like most other slaves. Her unfortunate luck managed to land her with Jose Porla, the biggest pig that all of Fiore had. He wanted to help her, he really did. All they managed to do was buy her some time, but they couldn't keep her from Porla. There was no doubt in Jellal's mind he would come, and he would take her back and more than likely kill her.

"I advise you to think carefully about what you're going to do next," Jellal said to her, and she shook her head.

"If you mean run, where would I go? I'm a slave." She shrugged her shoulders and turned her back to Jellal. As she started walking, Jellal bit his lip. It was the same thing Gajeel had told him a few days ago. All they had were being slaves, no matter what that would always be with them. It was a black mark on their record and no matter what it wouldn't go away.

"Such a bittersweet homecoming," Levy said softly from the driver bench. Jellal looked at her and nodded stiffly in agreement. "What are we going to do?" she asked him, looking at him with that same look that many of his men gave him.

"We're going to tread carefully," Jellal replied as he clicked his tongue. His horse began walking again, and Levy sighed gently slapping the reins on the horses' backs.

Lucy and Erza who had been inside, had heard everything. To say the least, it had Lucy nervous and worried about the upcoming days. She ran her fingers through her hair and leaned back in her seat. Her redheaded friend looked at her and reached out to place her hand on top of Lucy's.

"Everything will be fine," Erza assured her with a kind smile.

"That's what Natsu said," Lucy laughed lightly with a shake of her head. She wanted to believe everything would be okay, but she had this feeling that it wouldn't be. "You asked me why we suddenly left Crocus."

Erza looked at Lucy in surprise, but nodded her head. Everyone wanted to know why they had returned two weeks early. Lucy kept giving the answer she missed home and didn't want to miss the Festival of Lights and she couldn't handle Crocus any longer. While those answers sufficed for some people, Erza knew there was more too it. They had stayed in Crocus all year long, something had to have triggered Lucy to go home so suddenly. It was as if she was running from something, but the question was what she was running from. Erza had been patient to not ask, considering everything that had happened, but her curiosity was still there.

"Tell me," Erza said, rubbing the top of her friend's hand in a comforting manner. "Why did you want to leave so suddenly?"

Lucy swallowed hard and looked into her best friend's eyes. "Prince Zeref made a threat," she began and let out a breath. "At first, I didn't think much of it. But after everything that has happened." The Princess shook her head and buried her face in her hands.

"A threat? Lucy you—"

"No! I couldn't tell anyone," Lucy interjected, causing Erza to furrow her brows. "Jellal is right, we're on the brink of war."

"You're not making any sense," Erza said, worry was written all over her face. She could see that Lucy was terrified and that was never good. Lucy was such a strong young woman, everyone knew that about her. "Lucy, tell me what happened."

"The night of that party," Lucy began, "I was outside on the balcony and Prince Zeref came to me."

"What?" Erza gasped in surrpirse. Almost the entire time they were there, they had never encountered the Prince. After the death of his father, Prince Zeref harly ever left his castle. He had locked himself in there and never came out. To hear that he had gone to a politicians party was almost unbelievable.

"He told me that he was looking for something that my family posessed," Lucy explained, looking to her best friend who nodded slowly. "He told me that he would come and he would take it, and he would cut down everyone in his path."

"Why haven't you said anything until now?" Erza asked, slightly annoyed with the Princess. If the Prince of Crocus had indeed made such a threat like that Lucy needed to tell her family. That was a threat of having a war with one of the other powerful kingdoms of Fiore. "Lucy, you need to tell them." Erza put her hand onto Lucy's and squeezed it gently.

"I can't! Not until I know what he is after," Lucy replied, shaking her head quickly. Erza stared at Lucy in disbelief.

"Does that really matter?" Erza inquired with a raised brow. If the Prince was coming after something, it didn't matter what. They just had to be prepared for it. The King and Queen would know what he was after if it was something they possessed. "Wouldn't your parents know?"

"I think I know," Lucy admitted quietly. The carriage came to a stop and both girls looked out the window. They had finally arrived back to the Heartfilia Estate. Lucy told Erza not to say anything, but the redhead wasn't sure she could make that promise. The blonde smiled weakly at her friend and pushed the carriage door open and climbed out with Erza right behind her. When they got out, they saw King Heartfilia and Queen Heartfilia standing at the foot of the stone staircase.

"Lucy," Layla smiled as she walked towards her daughter and embraced her tightly.

"Mother." Lucy hugged her back and as they pulled apart she slowly looked over to her father, who looked away in shame. It was apparent that he still felt horrible for what he did too Loke and how he lied to her. How they both lied to her, and Lucy was happy about that. He needed to feel guilty, he should feel guilty.

"Where are the slaves?" Jude asked, his eyes still looking everywhere but at Lucy.

"I sent them to Macao at the arena," Jellal explained as he dismounted from his horse and walked closer. "They are with my Lieutenant." He looked at the King and Queen, assuring them everything was fine.

"Good," Jude replied with a single curt nod.

Lucy couldn't handle it anymore. She couldn't hold in how she felt about her father. "That's all you can say?" she asked.

Layla looked at her daughter and tried to stop her, but Lucy brushed her away. Her father deserved to hear exactly how Lucy felt. For years she had done everything by his rules, whatever it took to please him, she was done pacifiying him. She wasn't a little girl anymore, she was a young woman with feelings and opinions. They needed to be expressed. "Lucy, we need to talk."

"You're right, we do need to talk. So I'm going to talk, you two just listen," Lucy explained firmly, her brown eyes locking first with her mother and then with her father. Her parents both stared at her in bewilderment, while Jellal and Erza exchanged glances. The truth of the matter was, Lucy didn't want to say what happened in Crocus, she didn't want to tell them about Natsu and her, but it was too much. If she kept standing by, letting her feelings go unsaid, she could lose much more than she already had.

"Lucy-"

"You asked me why I left Crocus," Lucy began to explain, and looked to Erza, who nodded for Lucy to keep going. "I left because Prince Zeref, the man you promised me too, threatened us. He said he was coming here to take something we possessed. I don't know what he wants, but I am begging you to not sacrifice Natsu, Gajeel, Loke, and anyone else for it."

"Lucy," Layla grabbed her daughter's hands. "Please, just listen."

"Prince Zeref is coming here next month," Jude said.

Lucy felt the air leave her lungs. Her father's words echoed in her mind over and over again. She looked to Erza, who looked just as worried as she did. He was coming to Magnolia. The man who threatened to kill her family was coming to Magnolia. They couldn't let that happen, they had to stop him, they had to be prepared.

"What did he tell you?" Layla asked her daughter, grabbing her daughter's arms. She held onto her firmly and looked into her eyes, searching for answers. "Lucy, what did Zeref say?" she pressed, shaking Lucy slightly.

"He didn't say anything," Lucy replied with a shake of her head. "He just said that he wanted something our family possessed. He never said what that something was." The blonde swallowed hard and looked to Erza once again. Her friend came to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"There's one other thing you two need to know," Jellal chimed in, gaining everyone's attention. "During our stay at your summer home, we were attacked by Jose Porla. He was looking for Lucy." Jellal getsured to the Princess, who looked away sadly. Her parents both looked shocked to hear this words, their faces both twisted in anger and fear. Jose Porla was a dark and twisted man, but he had many loyal followers.

"Porla?" Jude repeated gruffly and shook his head. "That bastard." His fist clenched at his side. The mere thought of Porla hurting his daughter in any way made him furious. For years Jude had tried to get that man out of Magnolia's political runnings, but he was never able to succeed. Thankfully, since he was the king, he was able to control him for the most part. He never imagined Porla would be involved, he had been missing in action for nearly eight months. Jude didn't think much of it, but now it was starting to make sense.

"He's after the Dragon Slayers too," Levy said from the carriage bench she was still sitting on. "Apparently some group is collecting them." She looked at the King and Queen, waiting for what their plan of action was.

"Captain," Jude said suddenly, gaining Jellal's undivided attention. "Somewhere in the city Gildarts Clive is here. Find him and bring him back."

"Gildarts?" Lucy repeated quietly. Natsu had been talking about him at the summer house. That man was his mentor, a father like figure to him, and now he was back in the city. They had all believed him to be dead, but he had returned.

"Right away sir," Jellal replied with a bow and quickly turned to mount onto his horse. The moment he was in the saddle, Jellal whipped his horse with his reins and dashed down the roadway.

"Father," Lucy spoke up. "I need you to tell me the truth about everything. Please."

They stared at each other for what seemed like hours. Everything was silent and all Lucy could see was her father. He took in a sharp breath and looked to his wife, who nodded for him to go through with it. They had lied to Lucy long enough, it was time she knew everything. Although, it wasn't like they had lied to Lucy, they just didn't tell her everything. The time had come though, she needed to know.

"Okay," Jude agreed with a weak smile. "Your mother and I will tell you everything. Everything," he repeated with a nod, and Lucy sighed in relief. That was all she needed to hear.

"Thank you," Lucy said. "Thank you."


	27. Father

**Author's Note: **Hello everyone! The chapter you have all been waiting for, the truth of how this all happened! Or at least a pretty large chunk of it. The story is finally coming together, I'm excited and I hope you all are excited! Also in other news I have put up the NaLU one-shot that I promised a while back and I have also put up a Gruvia one. They are called **Ask Her **and **Falling**. If you haven't yet, go check them out! Now enjoy the chapter! Oh and by the way, I'm hoping that by chapter 30 we hit 300 comments! Please help me get there!

**Special Thanks:** DancesWithSeatbelts, Candy5554, kiraito, DatAnonymousGal, 12Redsky34, AWK and The Akatsugirls, MeGustaZeref, Concrete Angel, and dreamer!

**Warnings: **AU. Sexual Content. Cursing. Violence.

* * *

**Father**

They were sitting at the dining room table. Lucy was seated on one side and her father was on the other. They were the only ones in the room, just the two of them. Layla had gone with Jellal and Levy to tell Macao about Jose Porla. The room was quiet and tensions were high, but all that tension would go away as soon as Jude started telling Lucy everything. She knew the vague details, she knew that it was about power and wealth, it always was. Her eyes remained on her father as he leaned forward on the wooden table and clasped his hands together. She could tell he was struggling to find the right words. He had so much to own up to and he appeared to be frightened. Lucy would be patient though, she had been kept in the dark for most of her life what would a few more minutes of waiting really do.

"I want to know about Natsu, I want to know about Gildarts, I want to know about Loke, and the King and the Prince, and every other skeleton that's in the closet," Lucy finally spoke up after nearly twenty minutes of silence. When her father's dark eyes met her brown ones, she let out a slow breath. "Start from the beginning, father." She stared at him and tried to be as calm and easy going as possible.

"Initially our nations were to be joined," Jude began, and Lucy nodded as he continued on. "The King had once wished to create a kingdom of power, a place where people would be safe and taken care of. Like most Kings, that vision became blinded by greed and hatred. There was once a nation smaller than our own, they defied the King of Crocus. He, however refused to give up and let them be their own."

Lucy stared at her father, so intently. She had heard of the small nation once before it was to the north of Magnolia. A small province mostly consisting of agricultural living, but it was wealthy for it provided much food to Crocus and Magnolia the two powerful neighboring Kingdoms.

Jude swallowed and rubbed the back of his neck. "The night you were born, the King's wife was killed by this small country. Angered by this, the King of Crocus commanded his army to wipe this nation out. In one night, the Crocian army had annihilated thousands of people. Only two young boys survived, barely a few months old," Jude paused for a moment and shook his head. "The King took the boys and left them at the Bone Pit, he offered them as penance."

Lucy looked down sadly. The Bone Pit was hell on earth, it was a terrible place. Macao and Gildarts used to tell horror stories about it. Apparently it was a large pit that was used as an execution ground years ago during times of war. It was said that five hundred years ago the First King of the Dark Ages took his enemies people, put them into the pit and used a dragon to burn the flesh from their bones. The land is haunted by the lives of those who were killed. This was why it was called the bone pit, six thousand skeletons were said to have been laid to rest there.

"Before the King had left, two dragons appeared before him. They demanded that the King take those children back and raise them as his own. They told him that could be his only penance. The King refused, saying that they were the sons of the man who slayed his wife. Blinded by his hatred, the King walked back to the children and killed one of the infants. Enraged by this, the great Shadow Dragon, Skiadrum placed a curse upon the King of Crocus in order to save the child's life. The King should have died that day, but the Dragon's believed the curse would be punishment enough."

"What kind of curse?" Lucy asked.

"The one that caused him to die," Jude replied. "Skiadrum had placed the curse known as the Bell Ringer's Curse. A dark magic that slowly kills the one the curse was placed on, and it is a painful death."

"Why is it called the Bell Ringer's Curse?" Lucy inquired.

"Because if the person connected to the King was killed, the Bell of Death will ring for the King and not the child."

"So the child that he attempted to kill was linked to him," Lucy clarified and her father nodded slowly. "Why does this matter?"

"You wanted the whole story, I'm giving it to you," Jude answered shortly as he leaned back in his seat, causing Lucy to go silent. "These two children were raised by the two dragons for six years, much like Natsu was. They learned the art of Dragon Slayer magic, so the King of Crocus returned. He was in a great deal of pain and begged for forgiveness, asking Skiadrum to lift the curse. They refused him though, telling him he would suffer just as the people of the nation he wiped out. The King begged for them to end the pain, so Skiadrum made a deal with him."

Lucy listened intently trying to figure out what was going on.

"If he took in the children, they would take away the pain. The King took in the two boys, raising them as fighters for the arena. He discovered the curse was not gone though, he was still linked to the boy. He began to search for a way to remove the curse," Jude cleared his throat and shook his head. "There was only one way to remove the curse, awakening the source of the curse."

Lucy narrowed her eyes. "The source?"

"The Dragon of Hellfire and Death, Neraka."

The questioned began bubbling in her mind. The Dragon of Hellfire and Death? She had never heard of such a dragon and probably for good reason. "So how was he supposed to find this Dragon of Hellfire and Death?" She crossed her arms over her chest still trying to see where her father was going. It was beginning to sound like some made up fairy tale.

"Through us," Jude answered, causing Lucy to furrow her brows in confusion. At first she wasn't even sure if she heard him right. They had never dealt with actual dragons before, in fact Natsu and Gajeel were about as close as they got to dragons. "There are three dragons, Neraka is only one of them."

"I don't understand, we have nothing to do with dragons," Lucy stated, and Jude agreed with her.

"Directly we don't," he explained, and Lucy stared at him in confusion. "The Zodiac does."

Now Lucy was beginning to see how the dots where connecting. Her family had been the ones who protected the Zodiac Key's for centuries, she was too inherit this rite. Unfortunately, when Loke was removed from the Zodiac to become an actual being instead of a spirit, the balance had been thrown off. The Zodiac was incomplete, unless they sent Loke back.

"Keep going," Lucy told her father. She needed to know more. When she was in Crocus, Zeref said he was coming after something her family had, and he would cut down anyone in his path. The most precious thing her family possessed was the Zodiac Keys, which meant that's what Zeref would be after. If his father wanted them, Zeref probably wanted them too. She needed to know why though, she needed to know what awakening this dragon would do if his father was already dead.

Jude took in a sharp breath and slowly let it out through his mouth. "The King of Crocus came to me, requesting that the Zodiac allow me to negotiate with Neraka. Loke, or Leo at the time, refused and told him that the Three Dragons of the Realms were not to be awakened from their slumber. The King threatened the family by that point, but Loke removed him from our home."

"So you had Loke removed from his world in order to keep him from awakening these dragons?" Lucy asked, trying to make sense of it all. Her father shook his head and told her it didn't happen like that at all. "Then how?"

"The King demanded payment, saying we were going against his rule and were threatening his kingdom. Because of this, he threatened war upon Magnolia. I couldn't allow this to happen, so I tried to by us some time," King Jude paused and swallowed hard. "I offered your hand in marriage on your twenty-second birthday to his son, Zeref. I told him that we would have a match in the arena with our best five fighters. If he won, you and his son would marry and he would gain control of the Zodiac by the rights to marriage. If I won, however, he would never touch the Kingdom of Magnolia or our family and the Zodiac."

"But the King is dead," Lucy said. "Is the Prince following through with this?"

"I believe he is, but for different reasons," Jude explained as he put his elbows on the table. He shook his head and tried to think, he knew very little of the dragon's himself. Then it came to him, Gildarts had mentioned something about hunters. "You said you were attacked by Jose Porla."

"No, we're not talking about that right now, we're talking about how all this happened to start with," Lucy stated firmly. She wasn't going to let him change the subject, she was going to make him finish. "So you offered me to the King, then what happened?" she asked him.

"He accepted the offer," Jude replied. "That's why I bought Natsu, that's why Loke agreed to come here, that's why Gildarts left, that's why everything has turned out the way it has, Luce. And I am so sorry for all of it," he began to cry silent tears. "I know that I haven't been a good father, and I'm sorry. Please, try and understand I thought I was doing the right thing at the time. It wasn't though, and I'm so sorry that it's come down to this. I love you, Lucy, you're my daughter."

Lucy stared at him, watching those tears roll down his face and splash onto the table. His eyes were staring right back to her, and it made it almost impossible to not forgive him. She made the impossible, possible though. Lucy couldn't forgive him, not yet. He had lied to her, he had hurt her friends, and now they were in this huge mess because of him. He may have bought them time, but in that time he'd accomplished very little.

"Why did you send Gildarts away?" Lucy asked.

"I sent him to kill Dragon Slayers, so that the King of Crocus wouldn't have any more in his arsenal. He's only one man though, and I have come to find out that he only killed one." Jude looked down at the table sadly.

Lucy's eyes widened. "Gildarts has contacted you again?"

"He's returned to Magnolia," Jude replied with a nod. "He said something about Dragon Slayers being collected, but I wasn't really listening."

"Why not? This is important!" Lucy snapped, slamming her closed fist onto the table. "Stop worrying about wealth, land, and power! Worry about your family and those slaves, who will have to die for you. The ones who have been beaten, starved, and mistreated all their lives just for being born at the wrong place at the wrong time. They are human! And that's the most I can say about you, because you're a monster." She had stood up from her seat by this point, her palms flat on the table, eyes narrowed, and face hard as she stared at him. Jude couldn't look at her, so he turned away in shame.

"I'm sorry, Lucy," Jude muttered.

"No! Don't be sorry, fix it! Help me fix this."

Jude turned to his daughter, eyes wide and tear stains on his cheeks. He looked at his little girl and realized in that moment, she wasn't a little girl anymore. She was a grown woman with a sense of propriety and decency. Jude smiled at his daughter and nodded his head slowly. It was time he stopped trying to do this all by himself and keep it secret. That was most likely the reason he'd gotten so little accomplished in the first place.

"Okay, I'll help you," Jude assured her with a single nod. "Do you forgive me?"

"No," Lucy replied curtly. "It's a start though." She sat back down in her chair and sighed heavily. They had to figure out what Zeref's plan was.

"I should mention one thing," Jude commented.

"What's that?"

"Prince Zeref is coming here in a month's time." Jude licked his lips, and watched as Lucy's face color started to drain. He could tell she was scared, and he was scared too. If they couldn't stop Zeref there was a risk for war or even destruction of the world as they knew it. "We need to prepare for that."

Lucy nodded in agreement. "Who else knows he's coming?"

"Macao, your mother, and Gildarts," Jude answered. "We'll need to begin training Natsu and Gajeel immediately."

Lucy stared at her father before swallowing hard and nodding her head. Those two were their best defense, they were powerful and could protect the city. Or at least give them a fighting chance.

* * *

**-xOx-**

* * *

"No! Stop! Please!" Wendy screamed as she shot up in the bed. Her body was covered in a cold sweat, her hair was draping over her body, and she was trembling. When she looked around, she noticed that the room was empty. No one was around, only the dying fire in the hearth kept her company.

The door of the small house came open. Wendy looked up to see Laxus walking in. He had returned the other evening with another man. "What's wrong?" he asked with a raised brow when he noticed she was shaking. Suddenly she started to cry, and Laxus frowned. "Hey, it was only a dream. Stop crying." He walked over to her and sat down on the edge of the bed, gently patting her shoulder.

"It…it was…e-everywhere," Wendy choked out. She started to shake, her face was going pale. Laxus furrowed his brows and tried to snap her out of her terrified state. Tears started rolling down her cheeks, and Laxus wiped them away as Wendy began muttering something over and over again. Her words were incoherent, so he couldn't really make it out.

"Hey! Kid snap out of it," Laxus said, pushing her back. Her eyes were in a daze, cold sweat covered her body, and in a blink of an eye she began to seize. The blond man gasped and quickly stepped back as he laid her on her side. She thrashed about wildly, and Laxus was in utter shock.

Moments later, Wendy's body relaxed as she laid there on the bed unconscious. Laxus swallowed hard, wondering what had caused this to happen. The door of the small house came open, but Laxus didn't turn around. His blue eyes were fixated on Wendy, hoping that she was still alive. Not because he really cared about her well-being, but because she had answers that he needed. Cobra walked up beside him and asked what had happened.

"She woke up, crying and in a cold sweat. Then she went through a seizure, I have no idea what happened." Laxus shook his head as he spoke and sat back down on the edge of the bed. He brushed Wendy's hair from her face and could feel her sweat. Her face was still pale and there was a slight purplish undertone near her jawline. "What is this?" Laxus asked as he moved Wendy's hair away, seeing her veins appearing along her neck and stretching up to her face.

"Turn her over," Cobra commanded.

Laxus looked at him in confusion, but did as he had asked. Cobra quickly lifted her shirt, and Laxus scrunched up his nose at the sight. Shaking his head, Cobra cursed as he stared down at Wendy's spine. "What's happening to her, Cobra?" Laxus prompted as he watched Cobra gently touch the skin of Wendy's back.

Her spine was a dark purple, almost black like tar. Vein like tendrils reached out from the spine in a grayish purple. It was a sickly sight as the black color was stretching out across her back. Cobra carefully moved Wendy's hair aside and could see the color fading in towards her skull. He licked his lips and shook his head, he knew of this kind of poison spell. It had spread into her brain, whoever cast the spell was trying to kill her.

"Cobra!" Laxus snapped harshly.

"It's Nightmare Venom," Cobra replied as he let go of Wendy's indigo hair. He sighed heavily and shook his head. "It's spreading, quickly."

"Well make us an antidote, we can't let her die she has answers to my questions," Laxus told him, but Cobra shook his head. There was nothing he could do, Nightmare Venom was a special kind of poison. It couldn't be cured unless he knew the exact ingredients and he would then have to found counter-acting ingredients to stop the poison. They didn't have that kind of time, the poison had already reached her brain. It was a slow moving poison and was only activated by the caster. It was a common poison used for slaves that worked on large plantations. When they just disappeared, the spell-caster would active the poison to spread through the spinal column and ultimately kill them.

"It's not that easy Nightmare Venom has over a hundred different strains. Yes, it is a common poison, but that's why each mix is different. Unless we found out what strain she had an antidote couldn't be made. It's already spread quickly, normally it will kill a person within two or three days, was this her first episode?" Cobra inquired, looking to Laxus who simply shrugged his shoulders. He hadn't been around to find out and both Porlyusica and Makarov would not return for three more days. "Based on the poison in her spine and the spread to her skull, I would say she may last one more night. Another episode will kill her."

"What do you mean?" Laxus asked, unsure if he was understanding it right.

"Nightmare Venom is a special poison that generally acts the same way as all of its strains. It causes the person to hallucinate in their sleep, it feels so real that they believe it's actually happening. It sends the heart into overdrive and the brain could swell until death finally comes." Cobra looked away from Laxus and down at the young girl. He hated the poison, but he had administered the poison on more than one occasion when he worked for a nobleman in another city.

"So you're saying she's going to die unless we get the antidote?" Laxus assumed, and Cobra shrugged his shoulders. "Then what?" he snapped.

"There have been some extremely rare cases when the poison has been extracted from the person's body. Though her spread is so far advanced, I doubt it could be extracted entirely. With that being said though if we could extract pure samples from her body I could potentially create an antidote." Cobra let out a heavy breath and looked at the young girl, she reminded him a lot of his friend when they were kids. "Taking out enough of the poison could give her extra time. I could create a mild antidote that will ease the pain and slow the spread as well, but ultimately it will eventually kill her if we don't get all the poison out or find the antidote."

"Can you extract it?" Laxus asked with a hopeful tone, but Cobra shook his head slowly. "Do you know someone who can?"

"Yes," Cobra replied with a single nod. "The poison has to be destroyed within the blood stream and within the bones, that's why I can't extract it. You need someone who can do it at a molecular level."

"Which would be?" Laxus asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Gildarts Clive."


	28. Gildarts

**Author's Note: **Hey lovelies! I really enjoyed writing the middle section of this story with Gildarts and Jellal, so I hope you enjoy it too. Thank you for all your support over the past 27 chapters, it means a lot to me. It's you guys that keep me inspired, so keep the feedback coming! I'll see you guys in the next chapter! Oh and I have another one shot piece in mind, but I'm torn between which FT couple to use…I'd appreciate what you readers think, so if you would be so kind and check out the poll on my profile and select a couple I'd be forever grateful!

**Special Thanks:** DatAnonymousGal, 12Redsky34, DancesWithSeatbelts, PandaPiggy, AWK and The Akatsugirls, dreamer, and OmegaSage037!

**Warnings: **AU. Sexual Content. Cursing. Violence.

* * *

**Gildarts**

**_-Six Years Ago-_**

_Gildarts Clive sat alone in the back corner of the Royal Library in Crocus. He had his boots covered feet propped up on the wooden table top. The candle light flickered as he had his nose buried in an old musty journal he'd found in the restricted section. He wasn't one to follow rules and orders though, he would go wherever he damn well pleased and no raggedy old sign was going to deter him. The pages of the journal were a yellow tint, the text slightly faded, and the edges were tattered. When he turned the page it crinkled a bit. According to the dates written within the journal, it dated back almost nine hundred years ago. He shook his head as he read through certain passages, looking for certain answers. A week ago, Gildarts had discovered some peculiar information about Dragon Slayers. He wanted to see if the information was true and what better place to search than the Royal Library._

_ Several years ago his mission was to destroy Dragon Slayers. It was an order from the King of Magnolia, and it was a direct order. He could not disobey those orders and yet several years have passed—about six years to be precise—and he hadn't killed a single Dragon Slayer. It wasn't because he couldn't find them either, it was because he couldn't bring himself to do it. Over the past six years Gildarts had come across four Dragon Slayers. One a Earth Dragon Slayer barely ten years old, another was a Wood Dragon Slayer and he was only twelve, the third he found was an Ice Dragon Slayer who was twenty-three, and the final Dragon Slayer he came across was Pearl._

_ They had crossed paths recently. He hadn't intended on getting himself into the mess, but he had no idea what was happening. She was just a young girl, fifteen years old, a skinny thing. Her hair was short and a pale blue in color that fell over her left eye. A few of the King's men had cornered her, had her bound in ropes and were thrashing her about. It had sickened him, so he intervened and saved her from the King's men. When they were finally safe, Gildarts looked at her._

_ "What is your name?" he asked, looking down at her._

_ Her head was hung low between her shoulders, keeping her face hidden from him. The shadows of the night were stretching through the forest, consuming the light with each passing second. She was panting heavily, but kept her head low. Gildarts tilted his head in curiosity and ran his gloved fingers through his orange hair. Her arms were scarred, probably from years of being beaten by the whip of a slave master._

_ She finally lifted her head, reveling yet another scar on her forehead just above her right eyebrow. What really caught his attention was the color of her eyes. They were a pale milky white; she was blind. Gildarts sighed softly and knelt down onto the ground before her. He doubted that she was born blind, but rather punished with a spell or injured while she was a slave. There were many slaves that were in just as bad condition._

_ "Your name," Gildarts pressed in a firmer voice._

_ She looked away from him and licked her chapped lips. "Pearl Marmor," she answered as she stood up, dusting off her dark grey sleeveless shirt._

_ "Why were they after you?" he inquired. It wasn't every day that the King's men went after a plain old slave, she either did something or was something the King wanted. "The King doesn't send his men after just anyone." Gildarts stood up as well and crossed his arms over his chest._

_ The wind blew between them, causing Gildarts's trench coat to flap around his boot clad feet. Pearl brushed her hair behind her ear, revealing a bone dragon carved earring. He raised a brow with intrigue, wondering if perhaps she was a Dragon Slayer. If she were then that would be the reason the King's men were after her._

_ "Are you a Dragon Slayer, my dear?" Gildarts asked with a small smile._

_ Pearl looked at him as her entire body slowly became covered in bony scales._

_ "A blind Dragon Slayer that uses bone," Gildarts said slightly impressed. "That's quite unique, Pearl."_

_ "The King of Crocus is gathering Dragon Slayers and killing them," Pearl said, clenching her fist tightly at her sides. "I wanted to be captured."_

_ "Why?" Gildarts asked. "Do you wish to be killed?"_

_ "No," Pearl replied with a single shake of her head. "I know why they are doing this and I want to stop them."_

_ "And how do you know?" Gildarts watched her curiously, dipping his head slightly to look at the expression on her face. He was having a hard time figuring her out, eyes told so much about a person. Hers were clouded though and her body riddled with scars._

_ Pearl closed her eyes. "I heard some slave masters talking about it."_

_ "You trust their words?" Gildarts asked._

_ She nodded her head. "They were the ones who are training the White and Shadow Dragon Slayer's."_

_ Gildarts furrowed his brows. He knew of the story, it was hard to not know since it was the very reason he was hunting down Dragon Slayers. It was a twisted kind of story and if he had any say in it, he'd leave. He promised the Heartfilia's that he would protect their daughter though, and he did actually care for Lucy. One day she would make a fine Queen._

_ "What did you hear?" he asked._

_ "They wish to awaken the Three Dragons of the Realms," Pearl said._

_ "Impossible," Gildarts scoffed. "They would need the Celestial Spirits of the Zodiac to do that. Those spirits are loyal to the royal family in Magnolia."_

_ "Do you honestly believe that the King of Crocus wouldn't cut down that family to get what he wants?" Pearl asked, causing Gildarts to sigh. "Before he gets that though, he'll need the Dragon's Stone."_

_ "My, my," the King's evil laugh came along with the sound of metal clinking armor and horse hooves clomping on the ground. Gildarts and Pearl looked in the direction of the sound. In the silver light of the moon, Gildarts spotted the King and his men. "Look at you spreading hearsay around my Kingdom and to a loyal follower of King Jude Heartfilia."_

_ "It's not hearsay if it's true," Pearl retorted._

_ "I know of your little plan," the King said as he pulled his horse to a halt. He was clad in his full armor, his face hidden behind the metal. Gildarts knew that he wore such armor because of his weakened state. The sickness had taken its toll on him, he hardly ever left the castle walls. The clock was just ticking by and there was nothing the King of Crocus could do about it. Gildarts knew that King Jude wished to avoid war, but it seemed like the opportune moment to strike. "I know of your plan too, Gildarts Clive. No one enters my city without my knowing." The King's army had surrounded them, keeping them trapped._

_ "I don't really have a plan, your highness," Gildarts replied curtly with a fake smile._

_ "Then it shouldn't be a big deal if I kill you," the King said._

* * *

**-xOx-**

* * *

Gildarts opened his eyes and groaned as he rubbed his temples. He had dreams—nightmares—about that night every night for the past month. At first it had all just been rumors and theories, but four months ago it had been confirmed. The Prince of Crocus was following in his father's footsteps, he planned on awakening the Three Dragons of the Realms. They were the most powerful dragons in existence, and would bring calamity upon the world. He spent the last six years since that night researching how it would be possible to bring them back. After searching through countless journals, grimoires, and folklore, Gildarts finally figured out the route the King was planning.

"Gildarts?" someone questioned from the end of the table booth. The orange haired man with a thick scruff along his jaw and neck grunted and looked at the hooded man. He sat up and looked at the man, seeing strands of blue hair poking out from the hood and what appeared to be a tattoo over his eye. "Is that you Gildarts?" Jellal inquired as he reached up for his hood and pulled it down.

"Depends on who's asking," Gildarts grumbled as he wiggled out from the table booth he'd undoubtedly fallen asleep in. "Who are you?" He managed to sit up and gestured for him to take a seat on the other side of the booth.

"Jellal Fernandes," he answered as he sat down.

"Well, look how much you've grown," Gildarts chuckled. "You aren't a snot nose brat anymore." He sat back against the cushioned booth and looked at Jellal carefully. Gildarts smile faded slowly upon noticing that he was wearing the Guard Captain's armor.

"The King sent me to find you," Jellal informed Gildarts, who was still eyeing him curiously. "I'm to bring you to the estate immediately."

"First tell me, where's Wakaba?" Gildarts laced his fingers together and propped his elbows onto the table. Jellal stared at Gildarts and let out a heavy breath. "Come on now, Captain, enlighten me. Where's my friend?" He waved the barmaid over to order them a few drinks. When she walked away to fetch their drinks, Gildarts licked his lips and turned his attention back to Jellal.

"He's dead," Jellal answered.

Gildarts looked down at the table and shook his head. He feared that was the case, death never seemed to end around him. "I see," he muttered softly. "When did this happen?"

"A little over a year ago now," Jellal replied. He could still remember that night that Captain Wakaba was killed. That same night, Wakaba had told Jellal that in another year's time he would retire and make him Captain. At first Jellal was afraid to have that kind of responsibility, but Wakaba told him that he was ready. "It was an accidental death."

"Accidental?" Gildarts repeated in confusion.

It wasn't something Jellal or any of the guard members from that night liked to speak about. They hadn't expected the event to happen the way it did. The route was supposed to be easy, they were just supposed to make sure it was clear for Lucy's caravan. Things don't always go as planned though. Gildarts licked his lips and sighed softly. He knew all too well the dangers of being a city guardsman, especially when they were in such troubled times with warring factions.

"It was a night raid," Jellal said, looking down at the scuffed up table top. He could remember it all so clearly like it had only just happened. The sounds of metal clashing, the screams of dying men, the splattering of blood, and the crackling of fire. "It was supposed to be a simple patrol, but we were attacked by a band of forty men." Jellal ran his fingers through his blue hair and shook his head. His mind was burned with the images of the slaughter, Gray and himself had used their magic, but it was not enough. Their enemy had magic powers as well, impressive magic they were not prepared to handle.

"How exactly was it an accident?" Gildarts asked.

Jellal licked his lips. "He was killed by one of our men."

"Friendly fire," Gildarts said softly.

Jellal nodded and sighed heavily. "The attack was directed at an enemy, but was reflected back and struck Wakaba in the chest. Eventually he bled out and there was nothing we could do." That was a sad night, the man who had saved Jellal was killed in action. Something that should have been a simple night patrol quickly became a blood bath.

"Reflector magic," Gildarts assumed, and Jellal nodded his head to confirm. "Was this mage ever caught?"

"No," Jellal replied.

"Seems that death and chaos never end in this city," Gildarts chuckled as he grabbed his beer mug. He took a long swig and slammed it down on the table, causing Jellal to look up at him. "Dragons, unruly mages, war…perhaps I shouldn't have come back." The man rubbed his bearded chin and huffed.

"The King trusts you, he needs your help," Jellal pointed out, but Gildarts only scoffed.

Gildarts had heard enough of Kings. They were all the same, wanting to protect their title and wealth. Nothing else really mattered to them until it was too late. Darkness was looming over them, it was the calm before the storm and no one would be able to escape its wrath. They didn't have time to prepare, they would simply have to face it head on.

"Let me ask you a question, Guard Captain Fernandes," Gildarts began as he sat up a little straighter and looked the young captain right in the eyes. "How much do you know about Dragons?"

"Not much," Jellal answered truthfully with a small shrug.

"Do you know of the three great Dragon Lords?" Gildarts inquired with a raised brow.

Jellal shook his head stiffly. "Why are you asking me these questions?"

"Because I'm trying to find out how much of a lost cause this is," Gildarts admitted with a small smile before taking another swig of his beer. Jellal blinked several times at the answer he had just been given and cleared his throat. It wasn't exactly what he thought he would hear, but apparently Gildarts was a pessimist or just a prepared person. "You see, I came to inform the King of the treachery of our dear Prince of Crocus. He is following right into his father's footsteps, but I have reason to believe he is doing so for entirely different reasons."

"I'm not following," Jellal interrupted.

Gildarts furrowed his brows. "The King is so foolish."

Jellal pressed his lips together. "He just doesn't like people to know his problems."

"They aren't his problems anymore," Gildarts stated hotly. "It stopped being his problem when the rest of his kingdom got put in the middle of it."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that, Prince Zeref plans to awaken the Dragon Lords, the Dragons of the Three Realms, the Dragons of Hell, Heaven, and Earth," Gildarts listed off. Jellal had never heard of such creatures before, but he could tell by the look on Gildarts face it wasn't good. "In order to awaken these three powerful Dragon Lords, Zeref needs to sacrifice 100 Dragon Slayers." Gildarts took another swig of his beer.

"And how many has he sacrificed?" Jellal asked.

"He only requires ten more."

* * *

**-xOx-**

* * *

Macao sat at the wooden table in the middle of the common area. Gajeel and Natsu were both locked back into their cells. They leaned against the metal bars wondering what Macao would say. Gray had just finished explaining the story of what had happened at the Heartfilia's summer home. Macao tapped his fingertips in a rhythmic tune on the top of the table, his face twisted with confusion, anger, and loss. His eyes drifted over to Juvia, who was quietly standing by a stone column with her hands clasped in front of her body. Macao swallowed and looked back at Gray, who pressed his lips into a tight line and looked down at his hands that were neatly folded on the table.

The evening sun broke through the small rectangular windows at the top of the slaves cells. Torch lights flickered on the stone walls and pillars, illuminating the room in an orange hue. Chains clinked in the slave quarters, echoing through the hollowed stone chambers. It was eerie with a chill in the air. The autumn weather was upon them, signifying the time for arena matches. The season was upon them, and Macao still had yet to tell them about Prince Zeref coming during the Exhibition Battles. Hinges creaking as the door from the arena came open caught everyone's attention as Queen Layla made her entrance with Levy and Loke by her side.

The Queen greeted them all and looked over to Natsu, who nodded to her. She smiled at him and approached slowly and gracefully. They stood face to face and Queen Layla spoke, "Thank you for bring my daughter back safely." She bowed slightly to Natsu, who assured her that it was his pleasure to do it. The woman, who looked identical to Lucy in every sense of the word, chuckled softly and glanced over at Gajeel. "I owe you a thanks as well."

"It was all him," Gajeel replied, nodding towards Natsu. "He talked to your daughter, I wanted to drag her back by force."

"And she would have kicked and screamed the whole way," Layla commented with a smile. "You both deserve better than this, I wish I could do something for you." She turned away from them and noticed Juvia. "You're new." Layla pointed to Juvia, who nodded her head.

"My name is Juvia Loxar," the blue haired girl spoke out. "Natsu and Gajeel saved me from a horrible death."

"Your highness," Gray chimed in, standing up from the table. "Juvia has useful information about our enemies, she could help us." He looked at the Queen for a moment before turning to Juvia, who agreed with him. She swore she would help in any way she could to repay them for their kindness.

"I sense a 'but' coming." Loke spoke up as he sat on the edge of another table with Levy standing beside him.

Gray glanced over at Loke and sighed. "She's a slave to the Porla Estate." Queen Layla's eyes widened slightly, it had been a while since she had heard that name. To her knowledge Porla had been traveling and staying in Crocus.

"Enemies? Do you mean Porla?" Queen Layla inquired, and Gray nodded. She looked over to Macao, who pinched the bridge of his nose. They both knew what this meant, the time had finally come. It also appeared that the Prince had won the ear of Jose Porla, granted he was always a twisted man, but there was no telling who else would be against them now. The King of Crocus had whispered many things among the noblemen in the surrounding area. He may not have done much for them, but his hands were in a lot of pots. The Prince was now pulling some strings with those contacts and turning them against Magnolia. Soon all eyes would be fixed on them, and they would need to make a decision.

Fight or fall.

"The time has finally come," Macao spoke out, all eyes turning to him. "And there's nothing King Jude can do about it."

Layla nodded gravely. "He's telling Lucy now."

"Telling her what?" Natsu asked from behind the Queen. She slowly turned around and looked at him. "What are you guys talking about?"

"We're talking about war," Layla replied, and everyone fell silent as they stared at the Queen. "It's been a long time coming, and now it's finally here."


	29. War

**Author's Note: **We're almost at 30 chapters! WHOA! I can't thank you guys enough for the support, it really means a lot to me. And the comments are nearing 300! This is very exciting, keep the reviews coming guys! This chapter finally mentions the Three Dragons and Gildarts and Natsu are reunited! Please enjoy! Also I have some one shots coming up within the next week or so, be on the look out for those! Enjoy the chapter!

**Special Thanks:** MeGustaZeref, AWK and The Akatsugirls, DancesWithSeatbelts, 12Redsky34, DatAnonymousGal, dreamer, and nalulover!

**Warnings: **AU. Sexual Content. Cursing. Violence.

* * *

**War**

**-Six Years Ago-**

Gildarts groaned in pain. The King had taken him and the Dragon Slayer girl prisoner. He had no idea where the girl had been taken, but Gildarts found himself chained to between two large stone pillars. They had stripped him of his trench coat and shirt, exposing his bare back to a wicked whip. His skin was broken and cut deep by the whip, he could feel the stickiness of his blood rolling down his back. Down on his knees with his arms hanging above his head, Gildarts cursed under his breath.

"So King Heartfilia wishes to stop me does he?" the King of Crocus asked as he walked around Gildarts. "Bring her in!" He looked to the large iron door, which creaked open. The sound of rhythmic clinking chains filled his ears. His right eye was nearly swollen shut, but he saw the girl from earlier.

"You're gonna kill an innocent child?" Gildarts asked, the coppery taste of blood filling his mouth and seeping from the corner of his mouth. "That's low even for you, your highness." His words were bitter and lethal with venom, but the King only chuckled.

Pearl stood still, her wrist chained behind her back, shackles around her skinny ankles, and a metal collar clamped around her neck. They jerked her forward by the chain, bringing her into the skylight. The silver light of the moon illuminated on her, and Gildarts frowned.

"This ritual," the King began as he walked towards Pearl. "We must spill the Dragon's blood when the full moon is at its apex. Lucky for you tonight is not the night of a full moon, so we'll leave you two here until then." The King snapped his fingers and the four guards holding Pearl in her chains, placed her between the two stone pillars across from Gildarts.

They hooked the chains that attached to the collar high up, restricting her movement. The shackles around her ankles were bolts down, so she couldn't lift her feet or try to escape. Gildarts shook his head as he watched them add one final piece. A stiff black metal belt, etched with magic inscriptions that would disable any magic abilities she possessed. Chains were hooked onto the loops of metal belt and pulled tight to restrain her on the pillars. When the guards finished their work, they left the room.

"Is this really what you want?" Gildarts asked.

Pearl's milky eyes fell onto Gildarts. "It's the only way to stop him."

"What did you do?" he inquired.

"I've put a poison in my blood that will ruin his collected blood."

"One problem, couldn't he just kill even more?"

"It will not activate until he uses the stone's. Magic will activate the poison," Pearl explained, causing Gildarts to furrow his brows. "That's why I wasn't fighting them, if I use my magic the poison will kill me in minutes."

"And there isn't an antidote?" he asked.

"Only eliminating it from my blood will cure me."

"Who gave you such a poison?"

"You ask a lot of questions," Pearl said softly. "It's like you want to save me. Why do you want to save a stranger?"

"Because no one deserves to die like this," Gildarts replied, which put a small smile on Pearl's face. He was the first person to show her such a kindness. The past few year all she knew was pain and strife. "There has to be another way."

Pearl closed her eyes. Once the stone was made it could not be destroyed. "The stone cannot be destroyed."

"How do you know this?" Gildarts asked gruffly.

"My mother told me," she said with a small smile. "She was a dragon."

The beaten man blinked a few times. "If it can't be destroyed…then why bother poisoning it?" There were many questions that Gildarts had, but he knew that they had little time. The most important thing was to escape, but he didn't think this young girl planned on going anywhere. She was a true martyr for Dragon Slayers.

"The poison flows through magic, so if the King uses his magic he too will be poisoned," Pearl explained. "I know it's a risk, but there is no other way to stop him. My mother disappeared years ago, but not before she told me the prophecy of the Dragon's Stone. It claims that when it is created and unleashes the Three Dragons of the Realms, they will fight for supremacy and our world will be the battle ground."

Gildarts stared at Pearl and let out a long breath. It appeared that there was much more behind closed doors. To his knowledge unleashing those dragons would be dangerous, but he hadn't be aware that they would fight each other.

"When they existed before how come they didn't fight then?" Gildarts asked, wondering why they would fight. From the stories and legends he had heard in the past those dragons were siblings.

Neraka the Dragon of Hellfire and Death.

Savaraga the Dragon of Heaven and Light.

Zuciya the Dragon of Souls and Creation.

"They were fooled, or that's what my mother told me. Each believed the other had turned on them," Pearl paused and shifted only to feel the tug of the chains, "Skeletamien, my mother, said that before they were banished to the Spirit World they vowed to fight to the death."

Gildarts licked his lips. "I suppose there's no way I could talk you out of doing this," he assumed.

Pearl laughed lightly, he was such an odd man. "One life versus the world; the world wins."

* * *

**-xOx-**

* * *

Gildarts had refused to return to the Heartfilia Estate, so he had made his way to the arena. The evening sun was setting in the distance casting the entire town of Magnolia into a fiery light. His trench coast waved around his legs as he walked swiftly through the streets with Jellal following behind him. The Captain had tried to get Gildarts to the Estate, saying it was the King's orders, but Gildarts reply was that the King had waited for several years another few hours wouldn't hurt him. Jellal didn't want to lose him, so he followed him to the arena. He wasn't sure what Gildarts was planning to do there, but he had mentioned something about finding out if they were ready. Jellal assumed that he meant the Dragon Slayers, but he couldn't be sure until they finally arrived.

Not much later the two were standing before the arena. Gildarts had stopped and took in a deep breath as he stared at the large stone arena. It was a masterpiece and hadn't changed at all in the time they he had been gone. A small smile came onto his face, and he shook his head. Jellal glanced at him and wondered what he was thinking.

"This place hasn't changed much at all," Gildarts spoke as he began walking again. "It's good to see it again." He stopped before a stone pillar and gently brushed his gloved hand over it. Jellal stood behind him and nodded slowly, commenting that it was one of the few things in Magnolia that would never change. Gildarts chuckled lightly and nodded in agreement before making his way to the slave's quarters.

As he started down the stone stairway he could hear people talking. One of the voices he recognized well and smirked. The light from the entrance at the bottom of the stairs reached the tips of his boots and he stopped. Jellal stopped behind him and blinked a few times, wondering why he had suddenly stopped.

"As long as the Zodiac is broken there is nothing Crocus can do," Macao's voice came. "It will take all twelve pieces to open the temple."

"How optimistic of you, Macao," Gildarts spoke out as he walked through the threshold. The moment everyone laid eyes on him, they all fell silent. He only smirked and nodded in a welcoming type of manner. "Yes, yes I'm back." He bowed dramatically and chuckled as he straightened out. Gildarts looked to the right and noticed Natsu Dragneel, standing in a cell with his mouth parted.

"Gildarts," Natsu breathed in shock. He swore that his mind was playing tricks on him. After all this time, Gildarts was right there before him. He appeared a bit older, a little gruffer, but overall he was still the same man from all those years ago. "I don't believe it." Natsu shook his head and stifled a laugh.

"Where the hell have you been?" Macao gaped as he approached Gildarts.

"Here and there," Gildarts chuckled, as Macao scowled and opened up his arms to hug his old friend. When the two hugged, Gildarts laughed lightly just as they parted. "You look old," he teased, causing Macao to frown.

"I am old," Macao snorted.

"No you're not, cause then that would mean I'm old too," Gildarts laughed as he clapped Macao on the shoulder and looked over to Queen Layla. She walked over to Gildarts and smiled kindly before gingerly embracing him. At first Gildarts was stiff, surprised that the Queen of Magnolia was hugging him. He closed his eyes and hugged her back. "It's good to see you, Queen Layla." They pulled apart, and Queen Layla gently touched his scruffy face. Tears started to form in her eyes, and Gildarts took hold of her hand.

"We've missed you," Layla said to him as he held onto her hand and slowly lowered it back to her side. "Welcome home, Gildarts." The Crash magic user smiled and told her he was happy to be home. She nodded and stepped back from Gildarts as he looked to Juvia and Gray, then slowly glanced over to Levy and Loke.

"You haven't grown much, Levy," Gildarts commented, causing the blue-haired girl to pout. She crossed her arms over her petite chest and rolled her eyes saying he was just like Gajeel. At the mention of the Iron Dragon Slayer's name, Gildarts noticed the long dark haired man in the cell behind Levy and Loke. "Gajeel Redfox, you used to work for Porla." He walked over to the cell, standing a step away from the gates where Gajeel's shadowed figure stood.

The Dragon Slayer stepped into the light, his red eyes boring deep into Gildarts' own eyes. "Yeah," Gajeel grunted. "Once upon a time."

"I won't judge, seeing as you had enough sense to leave," Gildarts stated and glanced over to Juvia. "You were one of Porla's slaves too." He noticed how she looked away sadly and clasped her hands in front of her body.

"I've run away from him," Juvia admitted, and Gildarts raised his brows in surprise. It wasn't like Porla to allow one of his slaves to run free. He normally had them executed or drug back to his estate where he would flog them and torture them as a way of teaching them a lesson. Gildarts absolutely despised the man for he had no regard for human life, much like the late King of Crocus. It appeared now that even the Prince was a sadistic bastard.

"Then you are very lucky to still be alive," Gildarts said out loud with a soft smile. "Most slaves that runaway don't live very long, especially Porla's."

"He nearly succeeded in ending my life, but Gajeel and Natsu saved me." Juvia looked first to Gajeel's cell and then turned to look at Natsu's.

Gildarts smirked and looked over to Natsu's cell. Sure enough that pink haired boy was standing there staring right back him. The fire was burning in his eyes, the passion that he had when he was younger hadn't gone anywhere. Needless to say, Gildarts was relieved that Natsu had managed to survive so long. He was sure that Natsu would have been captured by the Crocian army and slaughtered by the King. Natsu was very lucky, but perhaps they would have spared his life and placed him under their servitude. The King did seem to have an interest in keeping the powerful ones around. Gildarts would never admit to Natsu that he was strong, but he was sure Natsu was aware of it. They hadn't seen each other in years, Gildarts was a little excited to see what had become of the Fire Dragon Slayer.

"You owe me a fight," Natsu said with a smirked.

Gildarts laughed loudly and walked up to the cell. Natsu's eyes fell onto the cage walls of the cells as they began to rattle. He quickly jumped back and braced himself as the cage walls exploded into tiny metal shards and clattered to the ground.

"Hey! Don't break my arena! I'm still making repairs from all those years ago damnit!" Macao scolded, shaking a fist at Gildarts. The orange haired man paid him no mind though and waved the matter off. "I'm serious, I need this place intact for the Exhibition Games next month." Macao walked over to Gildarts and frowned, seeing Natsu's cell was unsalvageable thanks to Gildarts incredibly powerful Crash Magic.

"Well Macao, I think you might want to put a maintenance crew together," Gildarts said as he looked to Gajeel's cell and smirked. Within seconds the cell holding Gajeel shattered into hundreds of pieces. The Iron Dragon Slayer gritted his teeth and narrowed his red eyes at Gildarts. His magic was unlike anything he had ever seen, it was destructive to a fault. "It's time I trained these fighters the way they were supposed to be trained."

Macao pursed his lips. "They haven't been picking daisies, you know! I train them."

Gildarts nodded knowingly and turned to look at his old friend. "But you haven't trained them for war," he smiled weakly, when Macao sighed heavily. "Captain," Gildarts turned to Jellal, "I suggest you begin training your guards harder than you did before. Everyone defending Magnolia will need to be stronger if we are to defend against the Crocian army."

Jellal stared at Gildarts for a moment. He was still so young, he didn't know how to lead in the case of war. Looks like he would have to learn quickly, after all it was the City Guard that were the front lines. "Yes, of course," he nodded his head. "So are you saying that we're going to war with Crocus?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Gildarts told him with a single nod. He looked to Natsu, who walked out of his cell. "I'll be taking Natsu and Gajeel under my wing, preparing them to fight the Twin Dragons." His eyes drifted over to Gajeel, who had also come out of his cell.

"Gildarts," Queen Layla spoke, everyone turned to look at the Queen. "What's going on?"

"I'm afraid I can't say at the moment," Gildarts replied. "We mustn't waste any more time." He turned to Gajeel and Natsu, gesturing for them to follow him. The two Dragon Slayers glanced at each other, but followed Gildarts up the stairs. "Your training begins now, the Exhibition Games are in less than a month. Your goal is to prove to Prince Zeref that he's fucking with the wrong people."

* * *

**-xOx-**

* * *

"One room please," Cobra said, holding up a single finger. The woman behind the counter nodded and turned around to the key hangers behind her. She was a beautiful woman with long silver hair, flawless skin, and beautiful blue eyes. Her smile was kind and her attire was elegant for that of a bar maid.

"Your name please?" she asked as she turned around with a key in her hand. She laid the key down beside a clipboard that contained a list of names of the guest staying at the Inn. Cobra stared at the curvy woman for a moment before clearing his throat. Her blue eyes slowly lifted to meet his and she tilted her head. "It isn't uncommon for runaway slaves to make up a name."

Cobra stifled a laugh. "I'm not a slave," he assured her, and he was being honest. Cobra had been a free man for many years now, but with the Twin Dragon's searching for him or possibly searching for him, he didn't want to risk leaving a trail. "I've been a free man for many years." He smiled weakly and glanced over his shoulder when the doors of the Inn came open. Cobra pushed away from the counter he was leaning on and watched as Laxus walked in with Wendy collapsed in his arms. Even from across the room, Cobra could see the black tendrils snaking around Wendy's jawline. They were nearly out of time, she would be dead by tomorrow if they didn't find a cure or Gildarts soon.

"She collapsed," Laxus spoke as he came towards Cobra, who nodded slowly. "We're just an hour's walk from Magnolia, I'll stay with the girl and you go find that man."

The barmaid gasped quietly as she noticed the tendrils on the young girl's face. She had seen that many times before, but it had been a while. It was the Nightmare Venom that slave owners used on plantation slaves. She thought that the venom had been banned due to the cruelty of how the slaves died. It wasn't a fast death, it was a slow and painful one.

"I might not find him," Cobra said as he touched Wendy's forehead. She was burning up, her fever was getting worst.

"Nightmare Venom," the barmaid spoke as she walked around the counter in her pretty maroon dress with a pleated skirt. She approached them carefully and paused for a moment, looking at both men as if asking for permission to touch Wendy. Laxus nodded slowly, and the barmaid gently touched the girl's forehead. "She's burning up, how long has she been like this?" she gestured to the black tendrils slowly creeping further up Wendy's face.

"Two days now," Laxus replied and Cobra nodded in agreement.

"She won't last much longer, but she's definitely a fighter." The barmaid smiled weakly and looked at the two men once more. "I have come across Nightmare Venom many times from runaway slaves, who came to this Inn to stay for the night. By morning they were dead, but because of that I was able to make a medicine that could ease their pain. Some slaves knew they were dying, but they just wished it to be a peaceful death like they just went to sleep. I can ease her pain, but she won't make it another night."

"She has too," Laxus told the barmaid. "We're looking for a man name Gildarts Clive, he can save her."

"Gildarts? He hasn't been around here in years," the barmaid informed the two of them. "He vanished years ago and no one knows where. I'm so sorry." She shook her head sadly and looked back to the young girl.

"I'll find him, can you help her?" Cobra asked, gesturing to Wendy.

"I'll do what I can, but you may want to prepare yourselves for the worst." She brushed Wendy's hair out of her face and looked up at Laxus. "Who are you?"

"Laxus Dreyar," he replied, meeting her pretty blue eyes.

"I'm Cobra," the other introduced with a slight bow. "And the girl is Wendy."

"My name is Mirajane," she told them. "Gildarts used to spend a lot of time at the arena in Magnolia when he was here, perhaps you should start your search there."

Cobra nodded and thanked the woman before he left the Inn. When the door closed, Mirajane escorted Laxus up to the second floor of the Inn. She led him down the corridor and held up the key to the last room on the right side. When she opened up the door, she allowed Laxus to enter. He carefully laid Wendy on the bed and turned back to Mirajane, who was standing quietly in the threshold.

"I'll go get the medicine," Mirajane told him as she quietly left the room, leaving Laxus alone with Wendy. He nodded and thanked her before turning his attention to the sick girl. There was a small wooden stool in the corner of the room. He picked it up and placed it by Wendy's bedside and stared at her, hoping she would make it through this.

"You can do this Wendy, you're a Dragon Slayer. That means you have to be a fighter, you have to be stronger than everyone else," Laxus said to her softly as he took hold of her hand and gently squeezed it. "Don't let those bastards win." He shook his head and bit his lip as he saw the sweat beading on Wendy's forehead.

She started breathing in a labored manner and slowly opened her eyes. "Laxus," she rasped and he looked to her. "I'm...scared," she coughed roughly and Laxus nodded his head knowingly.

"Don't worry," he whispered to her, brushing her hair from her face. "We're going to save you."

Wendy smiled weakly and started to cough again. The coughing became violently and after ten seconds of it, she started to cough up blood. Laxus stood up from the stool and shook his head. Wendy looked to Laxus after staring at her blood covered hands. Tears started to form in her eyes, but Laxus assured her that she would be okay.

Mirajane came back into the room with a small bowl of cool water and a few clean cloths. "Here, let's clean you up and make you comfortable," the woman said with a kind smile as she cleaned up Wendy's face and face. Laxus stood behind her and watched worriedly. "I'm putting the medicine in some tea, I'll be right back with it. Just lay down and try to rest for now." Mirajane gently pushed Wendy back onto the bed and turned to Laxus. She nodded for him to go with her and he nodded, telling Wendy he'd be right back.

The moment the two were out in the hallway, Mirajane sighed heavily. "What is it?" Laxus prompted, crossing his arms over his chest.

"She won't survive the night," Mirajane admitted, and Laxus clenched his jaw. "My medicine will ease her pain, but the venom and tearing her apart inside. By morning she'll be gone, I'm sorry. I wish I could do more, she's just a little girl." She shook her head sadly and brushed her silver locks over her slender shoulders.

"I wish we'd known sooner," Laxus muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. He wasn't sure why he cared so much, he'd known Wendy for less than a week. Maybe it was because she was a Dragon Slayer, or maybe it was because she was just a little girl, scared and all alone. She didn't have anyone to turn to, children who grew up as slaves only knew the snapping of a whip, the unquenchable thirst, and the never ending hunger. It was a hard life, and Laxus had figured that since he freed her from her master's control, she'd finally live a good life.

"Is she your daughter?" Mirajane asked.

Laxus shook his head. "No, just an orphan I came across one day."

"You're a good man," Mirajane told him, placing her hand gently on his upper arm. "Most people would have turned away, but you're still trying to save her. That's admirable." She smiled at him and slowly moved her hand from his arm.

"Thanks," he replied quietly. "I guess for now we just do whatever we can to make her comfortable and hope that she's strong enough to survive."


	30. Cure

**Author's Note:** Everyone, we have arrived at chapter 30! This is pretty exciting, thank you all for the support up to this point. I made this chapter extra long, I hope you enjoy it! And this is an early update because I'm hoping to have chapter 32 up before Halloween, since the theme of that chapter is going to be related to Halloween in a way. Thank you to everyone who commented on the last chapter, I truly appreciate the feedback! Also please excuse my spelling/grammatical errors.

**Warnings: **AU. Sexual Content. Cursing. Violence.

* * *

**Cure**

Queen Layla sat in the King's booth of the arena, watching as Gildarts faced off against Natsu and Gajeel in a strict hand to hand combat fight. Though old, Gildarts fought hard and with such prowess she found it hard to believe he was nearing fifty years of age. Her brown eyes scanned every movement that the three made. They would without a doubt be the front lines to defending the City of Magnolia. Natsu was nimble and swift, dodging every punch that Gildarts threw. Unfortunately, Gildarts was nimble himself and easily evaded the strikes of the two Dragon Slayers. They had been going at it for about an hour now, not once had they stopped to rest. Queen Layla heard footsteps approaching behind her and turned to see Loke. He bowed before her and straightened up before looking into the arena.

"They are not the only defense to Magnolia," Loke said to her as he approached the stone railing of the booth. He leaned against it and watched as Natsu went in for an upper cut. Gildarts evaded by taking a step back and quickly raised his arm up to defend against a kick by Gajeel. Their fight was almost like a dance, each one striking in a beat to unheard music. That being said, Gajeel and Natsu would never beat Gildarts alone, they needed to work together. "They still have a lot to learn." Loke pushed away from the wall and turned his attention back to the Queen.

"I agree," Queen Layla said with a single nod. "Gildarts has his work cut out for him. The Twin Dragons of Crocus have fought side by side for years. Their teamwork and precision is far beyond Natsu's and Gajeel's. I just hope they have enough time to build a camaraderie for one another." She brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear and placed her hands neatly back in her lap. Loke continued to look at her, and she knew that he had something more to say. In fact, she was sure she knew what he was going to say. It wouldn't be right to deny him anymore, his wounds had healed well and he knew the truth. If Loke wanted to return to the Spirit World, she had no right to keep him from it.

"Your Highness," Loke began, and Layla closed her eyes. "I think it's time you teach Lucy how to use the Zodiac. You should send me back."

"I knew you were going to say that," Layla whispered softly and opened her eyes. She turned to look at Loke, who nodded his head. "You've been speaking to Macao about this."

"Yes," Loke replied firmly. "You need to send me back, the Zodiac is your best defense. They have defended the Heartfilia family for years, and with me being here you can't summon them." Loke walked over to Layla and took a seat beside her.

"Macao knows too much," Layla muttered with a light hearted laugh. "It will need to be on the night of a full moon, we'll need its magic to strengthen our own."

"Our?" Loke inquired with a raised brow.

Layla nodded her head. "Lucy and I."

In order to have Loke summoned to the Human World, they had to seal the Spirit World off, so that it would cut all his ties. It allowed no magic to keep him attached, he was truly free. Unfortunately, sealing the Spirit World meant that Layla, nor anyone in her family could summon any other member of the Zodiac until Loke was returned home. It was a huge risk for them to take, but given everything that had been happening at that time they did so anyways. By sealing the Zodiac, the King of Crocus couldn't simply steal they keys for they wouldn't work even if he had a celestial mage. At the same time however, if he found Loke and sent him back then he could summon the Zodiac. They also wanted Lucy to be protected, so Loke stayed by the young Princess's side.

"In returning you to the Zodiac, I will have to pass on my legacy to Lucy," Layla explained, and Loke furrowed his brows. "When I return you to the Spirit World, I will no longer be a celestial mage. I will have to forfeit my magic."

"What?" Loke asked in shock, he didn't realize that would happen.

"It's the law between the Human and Spirit Worlds," Layla explained to him with a small frown. "You are not of this world, but I made you become of it. I broke the balance, and for the balance to be restored, my magic will be forfeited." She looked at Loke, who could only stare at the Queen. "You knew this too before, but we both made sacrifices."

"What sacrifices did I make? You will lose your magic!" Loke exclaimed as he stood up from his seat and started pacing in front of her. He thought that there might be a way around this, but Layla was right magic always found a balance. You didn't just get what you wanted because you wanted it, there was always a price to pay. Sometimes there was a loophole though.

"You lost all your memories," Layla said. "Hundreds of years and they are gone forever, because you came here. Even if you go back, I doubt you'll remember much."

"My memories may never return?" Loke asked.

Layla nodded her head slowly. "Magic will always balance itself out."

Loke swallowed hard and ran his fingers through his orange locks. "So if you send me back?"

"I'm not sure what will happen," Layla answered truthfully. "There has to be a balance." She stood up and approached Loke, placing a hand gently on his shoulder. He looked to her and she smiled at him.

"We need the others," Loke told her. "My memories of them are faint, but I remember we were stronger together."

"You all together were definitely a force to be reckoned with." Layla smiled and looked back out to the arena just in time to witness Gildarts knocking both Gajeel and Natsu back. Both Dragon Slayers were lying flat on the ground, motionless. "And with Gildarts and those two, Zeref won't stand a chance."

Loke smiled and nodded in agreement. "We'll stop him. But first let's train Lucy."

"Train me for what?" Lucy's voice came from behind and the two turned to the Princess as she came forth in a deep maroon colored gown that draped around her shoulders. It was airy looking and absolutely stunning with her hair in soft curls. "What's going on out there?" she asked with worry as she saw Natsu and Gajeel shakily getting onto their feet. Her eyes widened when she saw someone she hadn't expected to see. "Is that—"

"Gildarts Clive," King Jude spoke as he walked into the booth platform and stared at his longtime friend. "What is he doing?"

"Training them," Queen Layla answered. "And Lucy, it's time you learned celestial magic. We'll all need to be prepared." She smiled at her daughter and turned to face her husband. He nodded in agreement and clapped Lucy on the shoulder, telling her that it was her birthright.

"This is really happening isn't it?" Lucy asked her parents. "He's coming to take the Zodiac."

"That's not all he's after," Loke chimed in, gaining everyone's attention. "The Zodiac means nothing if they do have someone to summon them. He's coming for you, Lucy." He smiled weakly at her and she nodded slowly. "We need to prepare you. You need to learn how to summon the Zodiac."

"Okay," Lucy said with a smile. She looked out to the arena, watching as Natsu and Gajeel fought with Gildarts. In her mind, she knew they were fighting to protect the city, to protect her family, to protect her. "When do we start?"

* * *

**-xOx-**

* * *

Cobra arrived at the arena just before sundown. He stared at the arena walls and kept his head covered with the thick hooded cloak her wore. As he stood outside of the arena walls, he could feel the pressure. Someone had an impressive amount of magic, and it was coming from within the walls of the arena. His eyes drifted over to the entryway just down the sidewalk from where he stood. He knew the risk of going into the arena, but he didn't want to see that little girl die. Taking in a sharp breath, Cobra made his way into the arena. With each step he took, the more power he felt. When he came out into the seating area of the arena, he stopped when he saw a wave of flames and a blinding white light. Cobra looked away and gasped when he saw a pink haired man be flung across the arena and slammed into the wall.

"We have a lot of work to do if this is all you two got," Gildarts shouted, looking first to the pink haired man and then to another who was down on his knees panting heavily. "On your feet, let's do this again."

Cobra stepped back into the shadows of the tunnel he had just walked through. He wanted to watch and see what he would be up against. In the past he had heard that Gildarts was a hard man to bargain with. He didn't look like much of a threat, but looks were deceiving. Cobra couldn't risk anything, he had to be methodical. At the same time though, he wasn't looking for a fight. He just needed Gildarts to save Wendy.

The two he was fighting were back on their feet, covered in dirt and sweat. The pink haired one rolled his shoulders and slipped out of his black vest. Cobra tilted his head as he saw red flames engulf the man's body. His eyes slowly drifted to the other with long black hair as his body slowly became covered in metal scales. That's when Cobra pieced it together, the pressure in the air, the fire and metal scales, they were Dragon Slayers like himself. He had heard that the King of Magnolia had two in his arsenal.

"Come at me with everything you got," Gildarts taunted, waving his hand at the two.

"Take these damn shackles off and I will," the one with long hair growl as he lifted his arms to show the black band on his wrists. Gildarts smirked and shook his head, saying they had to do without magic, then they could work with it. "Pfft, what a cheap answer." He pointed his clenched fist in Gildarts direction and it transformed into a metal sword.

Cobra pursed his lips, intrigued by what he was witnessing. He was so busy watching the battle between the two Dragon Slayers and Gildarts that he hadn't realized someone had spotted him. The two slayers weren't syncing together like the Twin Dragons of Crocus. These two were choppy and weren't precise and fluid, while Rogue and Sting fought like a perfect dance in a ballroom. They just tried to strike Gildarts down at separate times rather than working together to bring him down. Cobra could see this would be their downfall, both the Fire Dragon and Iron Dragon were acting like the other wasn't even there.

"Don't even think about it," Cobra hissed as he whirled around.

Macao Conbolt stood before him, his hands covered in a purple flame. "Who are you?"

Cobra narrowed his eyes at the slave master. "No one," he replied. "I came to speak with Gildarts Clive."

"Is that so?" Macao asked, his flames flickering around his hands. Cobra looked at the purple flames for a moment before looking back a Macao. He nodded his head, assuring him that he just wanted to speak with Gildarts and then he would be on his way.

"Yes," Cobra answered shortly. He stared at Macao, his magical ability to hear people's thoughts reading Macao's mind. The man didn't seem to believe him and planned to attack him. "Attacking me would end badly for you."

Macao furrowed his brows, wondering how he knew he was planning on attacking him. He assumed it had just been a lucky guess given the circumstance. "And why is that?" Macao asked, trying to figure the stranger out. He had never come across him before, but he could tell he had been through a lot. His features were snake-like, pointed ears, skin tanned from years under the sun, and there was a scar over his right eye.

"I'm a Dragon Slayer," Cobra said, and Macao lifted his head slightly with intrigue. "Look, I just want to ask Gildarts a favor. Don't make this more complicated than it has to be. I don't have time to fight."

Macao's flames began to subside. "Well if you aren't looking for a fight, then I won't fight you."

Cobra nodded in appreciation.

"I doubt Gildarts will help you though, he doesn't have time for much right now." Macao looked past Cobra to view the fight. Gildarts was deflecting their punches and pushing them back like it was nothing.

"If he's training them, he's not doing a good job," Cobra replied as he watched Natsu and Gajeel. They were still fighting like the other wasn't there, it was like watching two separate battles at the same time. "They aren't working together, they obviously can't beat him one on one."

"You sound like someone who's battle in the arena in pair matches," Macao said, and Cobra glanced at him. It was true, Cobra used to fight in the arena when he was fifteen years old. He managed to get out after three years, but he fought in special classification battles that included animal partners.

"That was a long time ago," Cobra muttered with a shake of his head. "Stop the match, I need to speak with Gildarts. It's important."

"What's so important? And how did you even know how to find him? He's only just returned to Magnolia a few days ago," Macao said as he crossed his arms over his chest, eyeing Cobra suspiciously.

"A friend of mine is dying, I need his help," Cobra answered quickly. He didn't want to raise suspicions. It was evident that Macao was still doubting him, he could hear him thinking. The slave master was debating if he should believe that Cobra meant no ill will or if he was a spy from Zeref. "Why would I be a spy of the Prince of Crocus?" Cobra asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"How did you..." Macao stared at Cobra in bewilderment.

"The Prince is slaying every Dragon Slayer that crosses his path, believe me, I'm not involved with him," Cobra assured Macao, who still appeared startled. "I can read your mind, I can sense and hear your very soul."

Macao blinked a few times. "That's kind of weird," the old man chuckled lightly. "You are aware that Gildarts is no healer, I doubt he can save your friend."

"I happen to know that he can," Cobra stated firmly. "She had been injected with Nightmare Venom."

Macao sighed softly. He knew very well what Nightmare Venom was, in fact, most slave masters knew about the stuff. It was deadly, really no cure for it, and it was a slow and painful death for the victim. Macao never used that on any of his slaves, he refused to kill them like that. "If that's the case, Gildarts can't help you. No one can except the person with exact strain of antidote."

"Yes, I am aware," Cobra answered. "However, Gildart's crash magic abilities might be able to destroy the poison within her body. I've seen him do it before."

"But if the venom has spread too far, damage has already been made. She might end up dying in the process."

Cobra shook his head. "I've given her a remedy that's slown the spread, but she doesn't have much more time. Gildarts is her last chance."

A loud explosion caught the two's attention. They both looked to the arena and saw Gildarts had thrown both Dragon Slayers into the stone walls of the arena. The impact created a large crater and both slayers were laying on the ground unconscious. Macao's jaw dropped, not because of the two Dragon Slayers, but because Macao had damaged the walls of the arena. Cobra couldn't deny that he was afraid of Gildarts, he had never seen such power before and it was restricted magic. Seeing Gildarts go full force probably would have been terrifying.

"Gildarts! What the hell are you doing?" Macao shouted loudly.

"What's it look like? I'm teaching them," Gildarts replied as he rolled his shoulder and peeled off his brown trench coat.

"Natsu!" a woman cried out. Cobra's eyes darted to the blonde in a maroon dress, running across the arena. She climbed over the rubble and dropped to her knees beside the pink haired man. "Gildarts that's enough for today, you're going to kill them."

"Sorry, Princess Lucy, I got a little carried away at the end," Gildarts laughed lightly as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"A little?" the blonde replied with a scoff as she carefully looked over the pink haired man. Cobra looked to the other side of the arena and spotted a blue haired girl, rolling the other Dragon Slayer over. She began to examine his wounds and gently brushed his hair out of his face. He had never seen slaves treated with such care after being so beaten, most of the time they were simply thrown back into their cells, but not these two.

"You look familiar," Gildarts spoke as he started walking towards Cobra and Macao. "Have I threatened you before?"

"No," Cobra replied with a shake of his head. "We have met before though, nearly six years ago."

"I see," Gildarts said as he stopped just before they went out of view. "Why are you here?"

"I need your help," Cobra told him.

"My help?" Gildarts repeated, sounding rather surprised.

"His friend was poisoned with Nightmare Venom," Macao explained, which made Gildarts brows furrow. "He wants you to use your magic to eliminate it from her body."

The man with the orange hair and scruffy beard nodded slowly. "I can't help you," Gildarts said softly. "Once the poison has spread there isn't much I can do."

"You've done it before," Cobra stated, placing his hands on the stone railing. "I've seen you do it. On the blind girl, she was a Dragon Slayer. Pearl."

Gildarts stiffened when he heard her name. He had never forgotten the night that the King had ruthlessly tried to kill her. She tried to fight, but in her weakened state she couldn't do much. Unfortunately, she was forced to use her magic in the process poison started flowing through her veins. Gildarts tried to save her by using his magic abilities to destroy the spreading poison, but in the process her muscles, bones, and veins were shattered in the process.

"Yeah, well that blind girl, she died that night," Gildarts answered bitterly. "I'm sorry, but I can't help you."

"You were able to destroy the venom though," Cobra said as Gildarts turned his back to him.

"Yes, but I also caused her great pain by attempting to do that. I shattered her bones, tore her muscles, and shredded her veins. She died while I was trying to save her, but I only killed her faster," Gildarts explained, his eyes hard and face stern. "I will not do that to anyone ever again." He shook his head and apologized once more as he started walking back to the slave quarters.

Cobra jumped over the wall and landed on the dirt ground of the arena. His boots crunched on the ground as he followed Gildarts, who stopped and sighed heavily. "She's already in a lot of pain, she's already dying, she has nothing to lose. You're her last chance."

Gildarts licked his lips and turned around. "Is she important to you?" he asked.

"No," Cobra replied. "But she was a lot like me when I was a kid, and I know how bad it sucks to not have someone on your side, someone to look out for you. So I'm going to fight for her."

Gildarts smiled weakly, he was slightly inspired by his words. "You know that I really might not be able to save her."

"Then you'll put her out of her misery," Cobra said. "You have been a slave master for years, you know how painful Nightmare Venom is. It is a death that I wouldn't even wish on my worst enemy."

Gildarts nodded slowly and glanced to Macao, who nodded back to him. "Alright kid, you convinced me," he said, meeting Cobra's eyes. "Take me to your friend."

* * *

**-xOx-**

* * *

Natsu grunted as he tried to sit up, but he was forcibly pushed back down onto the cot. His eyes opened and he smiled weakly when he saw Lucy sitting on the edge of his bed. She smiled back at him and dipped a white cloth into a bowl of water. Wringing the execess water out, Lucy gently daped it onto his face and laid it on his forehead. He let out a heavy breath and glanced across the cells, finding Gajeel sitting in the common area with Levy wrapping him in bandages. He looked around, but found that Gildarts wasn't anywhere to be found.

"Where's Gildarts?" Natsu asked in a raspy voice and coughed a few times. Lucy shushed him and grabbed a glass of water and brought it to his lips. She helped him take a small sip and put the glass back down on the small bedside table.

"He went with someone," Lucy explained to Natsu in a soft voice. "He'll be back tomorrow."

"With who?" Natsu asked curiously, and partly out of fear that his friend wouldn't come back. The last time Gildarts told him he'd be back soon, five and a half years went by. He did find relief in knowing that Gildarts was alive and well though.

Lucy shook her head. "I'm not sure, but he needed Gildarts' help." She placed her hand on Natsu's and smiled at him. "Besides, you and Gajeel both needed the training to stop. He could have done serious damage if you boys kept it up." Everyone in all of Magnolia knew of Gildarts and his impressive magic abilities known as Crash. It was a destructive magic that pretty much obliterated anything he wanted it too. With his shear will, Gildarts could probably wipe an entire village off the map like it never exsisted. They were lucky he was on their side, otherwise they'd be in a lot of trouble.

"We could have taken him," Natsu said, squeezing Lucy's hand and flashing her a goofy smile. The blonde rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Weren't you supposed to be training too?" he asked, turning his head slightly on the pillow.

She nodded her head. "I was just coming to check on you," she admitted with a small smile. Her hand reached for his face and gently stroked his skin with her thumb. "My father was going to allow you and Gajeel to have dinner with us tonight, but I don't think that's going to happen now," she said, getsuring to his bandaged body that was bruised and swollen all over.

"I would have enjoyed it," Natsu told her, making Lucy smile. "Did you get all the answers you wanted from your father?"

Lucy nodded her head. "He told me the whole story," she explained to him and ran her fingers through her hair. Lucy let go of Natsu's hand and stood up from the cot, pacing the room anxiously. "Natsu, I'm scared." Her eyes began to water, and Natsu frowned.

"Don't be," Natsu said, and Lucy locked her brown eyes with his charcoal ones. He shook his head and gestured for her to come over to him. Lucy wiped away her tears and walked over to his bed. Natsu scooted over and nodded for Lucy to lay down with him. Lucy sat on the bed and slowly laid back. She gently placed her head on Natsu's toned chest and sighed softly as his arm came around her, pulling her close. His warmth consumed her and her eyes fluttered closed. "Everything is going to be okay, I won't let anything happen to you." He kissed the top of her head and just held her, hoping she would feel comfort and safety in his arms.

Levy looked over to the two for a few moments and smiled. Even though Natsu was a slave and Lucy was a princess, she loved the idea of them being together. It would be just like the fairytales she read as a child. They made each other happy and they were in love, they deserved to be together. Levy looked away and turned her attention to Gajeel. He was sitting still, slightly haunched over with his elbows resting on his knees. His red eyes were closed and he appeared to be sleeping, but when Levy leaned over to get a better look his eyes slowly opened.

"You done?" he asked quietly.

Levy stepped back and nodded slowly. "Yeah, just take it easy. A good nights rest and some food and you'll be fine." She smiled as him and started cleaning up the leftover materials on the table. Gajeel nodded slowly and sat up a little straighter, his face twisting in pain as he did so. "Here," Levy said, holding out metal words that spelled out 'iron'. "I made this for you, figured it'd help you regain some strength. Natsu ate like five torch flames." She chuckled softly, and watched as Gajeel stared at the solid script magic she'd made.

"Thanks, Pip," Gajeel said with a genuine smile as he took the iron from her and began munching down.

"I was worried," Levy admitted, and Gajeel looked at her. "I didn't think Gildarts was going to stop."

"I wasn't going to die," he assured her before taking another bite. "I'm not so easily defeated."

Levy laughed lightly. "I know," she said with a nod. "But still, I don't like seeing you get hurt."

Gajeel stared at Levy, surprised by her words. He knew that she cared, but it wasn't like she openly admitted it. all the time. It was always a subtle hint, but in that moment it was clear. "Well, I'm okay now, thanks to you." He offered her that as comfort, he never was one to show much affection and that was simply because he didn't know how. Most of his life, Gajeel had been treated like a doormat, and it wasn't until he met Levy and Macao that he learned what friendship and love felt like.

"I'm glad," she said with a smile. "I'll go get you some food."

"You don't have to," Gajeel said as she started walking away.

Levy stopped and turned around. "I want to, and you need it." She winked at him and continued walking, while Gajeel just watched her go. Her dress swayed just above the bed of her knees, her hair bounced on her shoulders, and she had a little bounce in her step. He stifled a laugh and shook his head.

* * *

**-xOx-**

* * *

Laxus stood by the window, waiting for Cobra to finally arrive. He'd been gone for nearly five hours now. Wendy was getting worse every passing minute, he wasn't sure how much longer she was going to last. The barmaid, Mirajane, had given her medicine to ease the pain, but it wasn't doing much for Wendy now. He sighed and shook his head as he turned to look at Wendy, sleeping on the small bed. Beside her, Mirajane sat on a wooden stool and held her hand, rubbing the top of it with her thumb. She had been by Wendy's side for the past hour, trying to soothe her in any way that she could.

Wendy's breathing had become shallow, the poison tendrils had reached farther up her face and around her neck, her skin was ghostly pale, and she was covered in a cold sweat. Mirajane shook her head and looked to Laxus, who pinched the bridge of his nose and looked back out the window. He knew exactly what Mirajane was thinking, they were out of time. Wendy would die before midnight, giving them only two more hours. Mirajane had even given Wendy another dose of the medicine she had, but it had little effect on the dying girl.

"L...La...Laxus," Wendy choked out, her eyes slowly opening.

He turned to Wendy and walked over to her. He knelt beside Mirajane and placed his hand on top of Wendy's. "I'm right here," he told her softly.

"It...hurts," she started to cough violently.

"I'll go get some water," Mirajane offered and gently brushed Wendy's bangs out of her face. She placed a hand on Laxus's shoulder and he looked up at her. "He'll make it." She let go of his shoulder and quietly walked out of the room.

"Just hang in there, Wendy," Laxus said to her, squeezing her hand gently. She looked at him and smiled weakly. "Fight, okay. Don't let him win." He reached for her face and cupped it in his hand.

"Okay," she replied weakly, her eyes slowly starting to close. Her breathing became shallow, and Laxus started to worry. They were losing her, she wasn't going to make it. He bit his lip and swallowed hard.

"Wendy, come on now, stay with me," Laxus said, shaking her gently.

Her eyes opened for a few seconds. "I'm trying," she whispered, and smiled weakly at Laxus.

"Good girl," he replied, smiling back. Unfortunately, her smile faded and her breathing began to get shallow again. Laxus squeezed her hand, but Wendy didn't respond. "Wendy?" Laxus asked, shaking her gently. Her head lolled to the side and panic started to wave over Laxus. "Wendy!" he shouted, standing up from beside the bed.

Blood slowly seeped through Wendy's nose and rolled down her lips and along her jaw line. Laxus cursed and quickly wiped away the blood, sitting Wendy up slightly to help the blood drain.

"Laxus!" Cobra shouted as he burst through the door, panting heavily with a man with a scruffy face and slicked back orange hair stood.

"She's dying," Laxus said sadly. "Can you help her?" he asked, looking to Gildarts.

Part of Gildarts wanted to say no, but when he saw that young girl, he saw Pearl. Fighting for life to the very end, but once the poison started to win, she just couldn't fight anymore. That young child was too far gone, the chances of her surviving were less than five percent. He'd seen Nightmare Venom, she was teetering between life and death at that very moment. Gildarts doubted that even if he eliminated all the poison in her body, the damage would be done. She was already bleeding from the nose, meaning her brain was begining to shut down on her. The poison was so close to finishing her off.

"I can try," Gildarts responded as he walked into the room. He took off his trench coat and let it fall to the floor. He told Laxus to lay her down and keep her still as he put his hand over her forehead. A bright line started to shine and Gildarts closed his eyes, searching for all traces of the poison in her brain, and expelled it with his magic.

He tried to be as careful as possible to not damage her brain or any of her nerves. Last time, Pearl died because he rushed and wasn't carefully. He wouldn't make that mistake again, he wanted to cure this girl, to prove that Pearl didn't die in vain. Everything she did, it didn't matter when she died, but Gildarts wanted to make it matter by saving this young girls life. He had to save her.

He had to.


	31. Legacy

**Author's Note:** I made it, thank goodness, next chapter will be on Friday as a Halloween Special! The ball is rolling now, the Prince is almost here! Who's ready? Thank you all so much for all the feedback last chapter, I truly appreciate it! This story is so much fun to write and it's even better knowing you all are enjoying it, so thank you so much!

**Warnings: **AU. Sexual Content. Cursing. Violence.

* * *

**Legacy**

**-Six Years Ago-**

_She screamed._

_ Gildarts closed his eyes and looked away. The King had heard of her plan to poison the Dragon Stone, and he refused to let that happen. He chained her wrist, lifted her off the ground, her feet dangling a few inches away from the floor. Another crack of the whip echoed in the room, and Pearl cried out in pain._

_ "Fifty lashes," the King said as he approached the young girl, gripping her chin in his hand. "Look at all this blood, such a waste isn't it?" He was the epitome of evil, Gildarts was absolutely disgusted by him. Anyone who got pleasure from other peoples suffering were barbaric and monsters in Gildarts mind._

_ Below Pearl's dangling feet was a pool of thick, dark blood. She would not survive much more of this abuse, but he knew the King would make her die a slow death. He'd beat her within an inch of her life, and slowly let her succumb to it. Gildarts closed his eyes as the slave master of the King prepared to strike Pearl's bare back again. Not only had the King chained her and beaten her, he had done so while she was completely naked._

_ The skin on her back was ripped apart, Gildarts doubted she would survive. He just wished they would stop. They struck her again, and Pearl gritted her teeth. Her wrist were bruised from all her weight being pulled down on the shackles. She looked so pale from all the blood loss, Gildarts was amazed that she was even still conscious. He was hoping she would just pass out, so that her pain and suffering could end._

_ "You would have been so lovely to add to the collection," the King said to Pearl as he sat in his lavish cushioned chair that he had the guards setup, so that he could watch Pearl being flogged. Gildarts shook his head and looked to Pearl, as she slowly raised her head. Though she was blind, Gildarts knew she was looking right into the King's eyes. "A Bone Dragon Slayer, such a rare and beautiful creature. And you tainted yourself."_

_ Pearl licked her lips, a dry trickle of blood left on the corner of her mouth. "I hope that Skiadrum's spell on you lets you feel every death you have caused," she said coolly, narrowing her eyes._

_ "Sharp tongue," the King commented with a smirk, before nodding to the slave master. Another sickening crack followed by a wet sticky slap on Pearl's shredded back. "Fifty-three...slave master, strike her front, her breast should be cut from her body."_

_ "You're a fucking monster," Gildarts growled._

_ "Don't worry, Gildarts, you'll have your turn," the King said with a laugh. "Slave master, come we haven't got all night."_

_ The slave master nodded his head and walked to the front of Pearl. She closed her eyes and let out a breath just before the black whip ripped at her skin. A large red welt began to form on her skin right across her breast and down to her stomach. Gildarts clenched his jaw and pulled at his chains. The slave master struck Pearl three more times before a whimper escaped her. When Gildarts looked at her, he felt his anger building. The welt on her skin had torn open and were seeping blood down her body, until it dripped from her toes._

_ "Stop this!" Gildarts snapped._

_ The King glanced at the orange haired man and pursed his lips. "Hold on a moment, slave master." The King held his hand in the air and stood up from his lavish leather chair. He approached Pearl and reached for the lever than kept her held up. When he pushed the lever down, Pearl fell onto her knees in the pool of her blood. The King knelt down before Pearl and laughed when he grabbed her face._

_ "Your Grace!"_

_ Blood..._

"Gildarts," Cobra shook the man gently, "Gildarts, wake up." For the past two days, Gildarts had stayed at the Inn with the young girl, who he had just barely managed to save. They wouldn't know for sure if she was okay until she woke up, but Gildarts was certain that all the poison was gone and very little damage had been done in the process of removing it. That night was a long one, but that young girl was a fighter through the whole thing.

"What?" Gildarts grumbled as he slowly peeled himself off of the wooden counter of the bar. He had passed out there after having spent most of the night drinking like a fish out of water. Laxus and Cobra had told him about the Twin Dragons and about Wendy having been under someone's control.

"She's awake," Cobra said.

Gildarts sat up a little straighter and turned to look over his shoulder at Cobra. "How is she?" he asked, as he rubbed his face, trying to ignore his headache.

"We think she's going to be okay," Cobra replied with a small smile. "Thanks to you, if you hadn't got here when you did...she would be dead."

Gildarts stifled a laugh and hopped off of the bar stool. "I think she owes you and Laxus her life, not me." He clapped Cobra on the shoulder and adjusted the collar of his trench coat.

"She's asking for you," Laxus said as he came down the wooden stairs that creaked under his weight. Gildarts turned to the blond Dragon Slayer and nodded his head. They all ascended up the stairs and down the narrow hallway to Wendy's room. When they reached the door, they could hear Mirajane speaking to Wendy followed by a little bit of giggling. All three of them took that as a good sign, if Wendy was laughing she was probably out of the woods.

The two girls both looked to the door as Gildarts walked in with Cobra and Laxus following him in. "You are very lucky," Gildarts said to her with a smile, his boots clomping on the wooden floor as he walked to the foot of Wendy's bed. "I didn't think we would be able to save you, but you're a fighter."

"Someone told me I couldn't let them win," Wendy said, glancing over to Laxus. He nodded in agreement and leaned against the wall near the bed.

"She's healing perfectly, you saved her," Mirajane said as she stood up from the wooden stool and looked at Gildarts, who simply nodded. "I'll prepare all of you some breakfast."

"That won't be necessary," Gildarts said.

"All that alcohol you drank last night, it's completely necessary," Mirajane chuckled.

"I'm taking my leave, I've wasted enough time. I have three and a half weeks to prepare for war," Gildarts told them with a shrug of his shoulder. "You both told me that the Twin Dragons were hunting you," he turned to Laxus and Cobra, "Prince Zeref only needs a handful more of dragons before he'll need the Heartfilia's celestial powers. We are on the edge of war and it will not be pretty." He licked his dry lips and glanced over to Mirajane and Wendy, who both looked worried.

Laxus and Cobra exchanged glances. "We'll fight alongside you," the Lightning Dragon Slayer offered, and Cobra agreed with him. "Looks like it's time to pick a side, and I choose yours."

"Agreed," Cobra added. "We will fight."

Gildarts looked at Cobra and Laxus in surprise, but the surprise slowly faded and he smirked. "We'll leave after breakfast then." He clapped his hands together and turned to Mirajane, who chuckled and nodded. "And you, little one," Gildarts looked to Wendy, "should stay here until your regain your strength."

"I want to fight too," Wendy said. "I don't want to let those guys hurt anymore people."

"Wendy," Laxus said softly.

"I can do this," she told them. "I'm a Dragon Slayer too, this is my fight."

Gildarts smirked, he liked her spunk. She may have been young, but he knew that even young Dragon Slayers were a forced to be reckoned with. Not to mention he wasn't about to turn her down, they needed all the help they could get. Zeref was no pushover, he had a powerful army and two Dragon Slayers that fought with a deadly accuracy.

"Well," Gildarts began, "I will be happy to fight alongside you."

Wendy's face brightened with a smile, and she nodded proudly. Cobra and Laxus seemed a little less convinced that she should fight, but at the same time she was a Dragon Slayer. Laxus had fought her before and even though she was under someone else's control, she had some serious power.

"Are you sure, Wendy?" Laxus asked.

"I'm sure," she told him.

"You still need to rest and regain your strength," Gildarts told her. "So stay here for a few more days."

"I'll take her to Magnolia when she's regained her strength," Mirajane offered. "I'll take good care of her."

"Then it's settled," Gildarts said. "Thank you. All of you," he told them sincerely with a humble bow of his head.

* * *

**-xOx-**

* * *

Lucy sat on the ground with her legs crossed between her. She had her brown eyes closed and her blonde hair cascading down her back. They had been training all week, teaching Lucy how to harness the Spirit World's energy in order to summon a spirit. It was tiring, but she was learning face. Her mother told her that she had a great power within her, and in time she would harness it.

Lucy let out a breath and felt the power swirling around her. Her mother and Loke looked on from the stone bench across the way. Connecting her finger tip, Lucy focused on the natural energy around her, enhancing her strength, causing a vortex of energy to swirl around her. Queen Layla smiled proudly, seeing Lucy was a natural at connecting with the world around her. It went without saying that Lucy was born to be a celestial mage. Her powers inside were incredible, and Layla wouldn't doubt that Lucy could summon several spirits at a time.

"In just a week she's learn so much," Loke commented, gaining Layla's attention. The Queen nodded in agreement, stating she was so proud of Lucy. "The Legacy of the Heartfilia's shines bright within her. She'll be an excellent celestial mage, just as you are Queen Layla."

"You're right," Layla stated with a smile, looking back to Lucy. "She's fallen in love with that slave."

"Love makes you strong," Loke added with a chuckle. "Do you think King Jude knows?" he inquired with a raised brow. The Queen stifled a laugh and shrugged her shoulders, there was no telling if he knew or not. But when Queen Layla saw the way Lucy looked at Natsu, she knew that Lucy had fallen madly in love with the Dragon Slayer.

"As long as Lucy is happy, then that's all that matters," Queen Layla said.

"I doubt the King would be happy to find that his daughter has fallen in love with a slave," Loke whispered.

"Probably so, but like you said love makes you strong," Queen Layla replied and stood up from the stone bench. The vortex around Lucy disappeared, and she unlinked her fingers, falling onto her back and panting heavily. The Queen made her way over to her daughter with Loke following behind her. "You are doing well," Queen Layla said as she knelt down beside Lucy, who was still laying on the lush green grass of the Heartfilia's garden.

"It's harder than I thought," Lucy admitted as she sat up straight and wiped her hand along her forehead. Loke laughed lightly and leaned down, holding his hand out to her. She smiled and took his hand. He pulled her up gently and patted her on the shoulder.

"Take a break, go have some lunch," Queen Layla said. "We'll pick up again in a couple of hours. You need to regain your strength."

"Okay, I'll be back," Lucy said and picked up the skirt of her dress before running back towards the Heartfilia's mansion. Loke watched Lucy go and chuckled, knowing exactly where she was heading.

"You know where she's going, right?" Loke asked, turning his attention to the Queen.

"To be young and in love," Queen Layla responded as she started walking up the path to the mansion herself. "How about some tea, Loke?" she asked him.

"Sounds like a wonderful afternoon," he replied as he walked alongside her.

Lucy was heading straight for the stable. She was going to find Erza, who had been acting strange ever since they returned, and was going to drag her down to the arena. Lucy was sure it had to do with the injuries she received, but she thought that if she saw some of her friends, she would cheer up. Several times, Lucy had asked for Erza to come train with her or have some lunch, but she kept refusing. Jellal had even come by to see her the other afternoon, but Erza hid from him.

When she reached the stable, Lucy panted and looked around for her redheaded friend. The stables were empty aside from the horses. Lucy was about to call out Erza's name, but stopped when she heard the sound of clanking metal. The blonde quietly moved down the stable and went around the corner. She poked her head out of the building, but quickly sank back to stay out of view. Just a few yards away by a large oak tree, Erza was down on her knees with a sword beside her.

"Er-"

A hand covered Lucy's mouth and she squealed, but the person pulled her back. When Lucy looked up, she saw the red tattoo and blue hair. "Sorry, Princess," Jellal whispered as he moved his hand away from her mouth and waved for her to follow him. "I didn't mean to startle you, but Erza needs to do this alone."

"What do you mean? What's she even doing?" Lucy asked quietly, hoping to not gain Erza's attention. Jellal glanced back to where Erza was and waved for Lucy to follow him. They entered the tack room of the stable and Jellal shut the door. "Is she training?" Lucy asked.

"Yes," Jellal replied with a nod. "And she needs to do this alone, Erza thinks she's a burdened now. While none of us think that, she does and we have to let her find her confidence and self-worth again."

"I see," Lucy said softly. She felt bad that she couldn't help Erza, but she knew Jellal was right. Erza needed to believe it herself before they intervened. "Wait, are you watching her?"

"Yeah kind of," Jellal admitted with a small laugh. "I'm worried about her."

Lucy beamed. "When are you two finally going to admit your feelings for each other?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jellal said, turning on his heels to open the door.

"Uh-huh," Lucy chuckled as they both walked out of the tack room. "Well, I approve for you two to be together." She winked at him and looked down the aisle as Erza walked in. The redhead stopped for a moment and was about to walk away, but she stopped herself and greeted the two.

"Remember, don't say anything," Jellal whispered to Lucy before turning to greet Erza.

"About you two have feelings for each other?" Lucy asked sarcastically.

Jellal looked at Lucy pointedly, and she started to giggle. "Don't get cute."

"What are you two doing here?" Erza asked, brushing her red locks over one shoulder. She tried to look a little more presentable, partly because she was sure she looked awful after spending the past two hours training with a sword and partly because Jellal was there.

"I was going to the arena to see how the training was going, and I wanted to see if you wanted to come along," Lucy explained. "I ran into Jellal on the way here."

Erza nodded in understanding and looked at the horse stalls she still needed to clean out. "I still have a lot of work to do, maybe next time."

"Okay, if you're sure," Lucy tried. She really did want Erza to come, but she wasn't going to push it.

"I am, thanks for asking," Erza said with a smile. She bowed to the two of them and walked into the tack room.

Jellal and Lucy both exchanged glances. They both wanted to say something, but they didn't. They said their goodbyes to Erza and quietly left the stable, heading to the arena. Jellal said he would accompany Lucy, since he was giving his men the rest of the day off. He told her that they had been training all week from sunrise to sundown. Lucy had recalled seeing them running through the streets one morning and another time found them practicing their swordsmanship. They needed to be prepared for Prince Zeref's arrival, there was no telling when the war would begin.

"Do you think that war will really happen when Zeref comes for the Exhibition Games?" Lucy asked.

"It's possible, but I hope it won't," Jellal replied. "Either way, we'll be ready to defend your family."

"It's not just my family I'm worried about," Lucy told him. "What about the people?" she looked around as they entered the city streets. Everyone was going about their day with not a care in the world. It was the city that she loved and to have to watch it fall to the terrors of war would break her heart.

Jellal looked around the market streets and frowned. "We'll try to get as many of them out as we can," he told her. "In fact, Gray and I were going to check the underground tunnels, making sure people would be able to get out."

"Good, but hopefully it doesn't come to that," Lucy said with a weak smile.

"Lucy," Jellal gently grabbed her arm and pulled her to a stop. "Whatever crazy idea you have in your head, get it out." He shook his head, and Lucy stared up at him. She was surprised that he even noticed she had a plan to begin with.

"It's just a plan to fall back on," Lucy told him as she began walking again.

"What is the plan?" he asked her.

Lucy licked her lips, debating if she should tell him. "I'll marry Prince Zeref."

* * *

**-xOx-**

* * *

"We have a week and a half left," Gildarts said, propping his feet up on the half wall before him. He put his hands behind his head and sighed heavily. To say the least, they were better than they were two weeks ago. The Dragon Slayers were learning each other, their movements, their thought process, but it was still shaky. Gildarts would like more time, but he would make do with what they had. Thankfully Wendy, proved to be quite helpful for her magic was also a supportive type. She could compliment anyone in a battle, but she was also a forced to be reckoned with. When Mirajane brought Wendy by a few days after they had returned to the arena, Gildarts had her spar against Natsu. Her wind power was incredible, Gildarts couldn't believe someone so small made that much wind. It was like she had summoned a tornado out of thin air.

"You sound worried," Natsu commented as he jumped up onto the half wall and sat facing the arena with his legs dangling over the edge. His eyes were fixed on Gajeel and Laxus as they battled in a hand to hand combat match. "We're not going to let him win, Gildarts." There was a confidence in Natsu's voice that made Gildarts smile. If there was one thing the five Dragon Slayers had in common it was heart.

Sometimes heart was enough.

"Your stronger than before," Gildarts said. "And not just because you have grown up, but because of her." Gildarts nodded his head in the direction of Lucy Heartfilia, talking with Levy on the other side of the arena. The pink haired Dragon Slayer smiled as he saw Lucy laughing with Levy. She came by every day during lunch to see how their training was coming. Gildarts had noticed that when she was around Natsu was just a little more determined than usual.

"What are you getting at old man?" Natsu asked with a chuckle.

"You got the girl, that's what I'm getting at," Gildarts replied as he leaned back and closed his eyes. "So for the next ten minutes, I'll let you go make kissy faces."

Natsu pushed Gildarts' feet off the wall, causing him to nearly fall out of the King's chair. The Dragon Slayer jumped down into the arena before Gildarts could grab him and decided to jump into the fight.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu unleashed a flamethrower at the other two.

"Lightning Dragon's Roar!" Laxus shouted to hit Natsu's attack head on.

"Iron Dragon's Roar!" Gajeel called out while he was down on one knee, unleashing shards of metal and wind.

When all three attacks collided it created and powerful blast that spiraled into fiery electric and metal whirlwind. After a few moments the attack finally subsided and the Dragon Slayer's remained in their positions, none of them touched by the attacks. Scorch marks decorated the walls and ground of the arena, metal shards protruded from the ground, and electricity flowed through the air.

"Just had to show off, didn't you, Salamander?" Gajeel snorted as he stood up, dusting the sand off of his clothing. Natsu smirked and raised a fist at Gajeel, flames engulfing it. The Iron Dragon Slayer smirked right back at him and covered his body in a mass of thick metal scales. Meanwhile across from them, Laxus stared and rolled his eyes. Everything was a competition with these two. He had to admit it kept things interesting though, especially when Natsu would constantly try to get a fight with Gildarts only to be sent flying across the arena, followed by a lecture of how his hotheadedness would be the end of him.

"Those two," Levy sighed and shook her head. "I can't tell if they are friends or what."

"I think they're friends, Natsu likes Gajeel." Lucy shrugged her shoulders as she watched Natsu and Gajeel get into a brawl, rolling across the ground, punching and kicking like there was no tomorrow. The Princess giggled and looked back to Levy. "Gildarts has pushed them hard hasn't he?" she asked.

"Yes, even more so now that he has Laxus, Cobra, and Wendy," Levy explained as she brought her cup of tea up to her lips. She took a small sip and watched as Gajeel elbowed Natsu in the gut and knocked his feet out from under him. "There is only ten more days until Prince Zeref's arrival."

"Don't remind me," Lucy said softly as she stared at her cup of tea that she held in her lap. She hadn't told anyone about her back-up plan aside from Jellal, who she had sworn to secrecy. He was an honest and trustworthy person, so she didn't fear that he would tell anyone. It wasn't a good plan, but it would keep the people of Magnolia and the city itself out of the cross fire. "My mother thinks we should have a party upon his arrival. Can't say that I like the idea, but we need to be hospitable. He is a Prince, or rather, soon to be King." Lucy shook her head and brought her cup up to her lips, sipping quietly.

"Are you scared?" Levy asked, looking at her friend.

"A little, but I have all of you," Lucy explained, but her eyes were on Natsu as she spoke. And it did not go unnoticed by the petite girl sitting beside her, who started to giggle. "What?" Lucy asked with a smile as she looked at Levy.

"You're in love with Natsu," Levy said, wiggling her brows.

Lucy blushed. "I..."

"It's okay," Levy said, nudging Lucy with her elbow. "He loves you too, everyone picks on him for it."

"Lucy," Layla called as she walked up the steps leading to the seating area. The two girls turned to see the Queen approaching them in a beautiful pink dress and her hair pinned up. "Your father has decided that a party will be had upon Prince Zeref's arrival to welcome him to the city."

Lucy just stared at her mother. She didn't believe the Prince of Crocus deserved such an honor, especially since it would be expensive and time consuming for them. No one should do anything for that Prince, but they had to do something special to welcome him. It was better than the alternative of a special fight at the arena.

"And because he will be arriving during the Festival of Souls, it'll be a grand ball," Queen Layla explained as she took a seat beside her daughter. "You'll have to dance with him too."

"Oh great," Lucy huffed and rolled her eyes.

"Try to see it positively," Layla said with a weak smile. "We're going to get you your dress tomorrow."

"My lady, Gildarts would like to speak with you," Macao said as he approached the three women. The Queen nodded and stood up from the stone bench before leaving with Macao.

"You'll look beautiful for the Festival," Levy said, turning her attention back to Lucy, who laughed lightly. The Festival of Souls was one of Magnolia's biggest celebrations. Women wore beautiful dresses and lavish masks, men wore fine suits and masks, and there was always plenty of delicious foods.

"You'll need to look beautiful too," Lucy mentioned as she nudged Levy. The blue haired girl blushed and shook her head, telling Lucy she didn't belong in such a place. "Sure you do," Lucy reached over and pulled Levy's hair onto the top of her head, "see just like this with white ribbons, you'll look amazing." The blonde smiled brightly, and Levy bit her lip.

"It's a nice thought, but—"

"Everyone will be wearing masks anyways," Lucy interjected before Levy had the chance to refuse again. "I have an idea. Can you got get Loke for me?"

"Sure, but what's your plan?" Levy asked curiously.

"Oh, you'll see."


	32. Masquerade

**Author's Note: **Okay, so this is a little on the late side, but technically it is still Friday my time. And the tension totally builds in this chapter, enjoy it! I can't wait to see what you guys have to say, thank you all for the comments on the last chapter. I'll try to update this again as soon as possible, comments will definitely help! So leave some feedback, until next time my lovely readers!

**Warnings: **AU. Sexual Content. Cursing. Violence.

* * *

**Masquerade**

The Festival of Souls had finally arrived, marking the first day to the Season of Warriors. The beginning of the new season for arena battles, the Exhibition Games were finally here. The entire City of Magnolia had been adorned with red, gold, and white to represent the Festival of Souls. It was an honorary ceremony for the warriors that would go into battle and fight to the death. Of course, it hadn't been like that in a while, but Lucy had a feeling that this year would be different. This time around the red, gold, and white coloration would represent what they did over a hundred years ago when the games had been a ritual of power and wealth between noblemen and kings.

Red represented the blood that would run through the city streets.

Gold represented the wealth of the kings and nobleman who would bet on the warriors.

White represented purity and light to lead the fallen to the heavens.

Lucy stood up on the balcony that over looked the large ballroom that was over flowing with many people that were hidden behind lavish masquerade masks. Some masks were lined with jewels, others laid in lace, and embellished with feathers and glamorous patterns. It was a stunning scene that she was witnessing from up above.

"Ahem," someone cleared there throat.

Lucy took in a breath and turned around, smiling as Loke stood in front of her with a wooden box in his hands. He bowed to her and smiled as he opened up the box. Her brown eyes sparkled as she saw the beautiful white mask that was trimmed with gold and speckled with little diamonds that glittered in the light. She gently lifted the mask up and put it onto her face. Loke put the box down and gestured for Lucy to spin around so he could tie the white ribbons together. As she turned around, Loke tied the mask securely and turned her back around.

"Enjoy tonight," he said, taking her hand in his. He lifted her hand to his lips and winked to her before guiding her over to the stairs. When they got to the stairs, Loke let go of Lucy's arm and nodded towards the ballroom floor. "You look beautiful, Lucy. Natsu's very lucky," he commented and stepped back.

The Princess looked at Loke as he remained in the shadows, watching her closely. She turned to face him completely, looking at him closely. He looked very handsome in his all black attire and his black and gold mask completed the look. There was a hint of mystery in his eyes and the way his orange hair fell around his face. Lucy walked over to him and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. The King of the Zodiac stifled a laugh and waved Lucy off.

As Lucy descended down the stairs, she took in every sight, smell, and sound. It was a royal party, fit for any King. She was sure that even Zeref could appreciate the ambience of the room. The train of her silk white gown flowed two steps behind her as she walked down her gold heels clicking on the marble floor. Just before she reached the bottom, Lucy stopped when someone took hold of her hand that was on the wood banister. Her red painted lips curled up into a smile and with her free hair she brushed a free falling curl behind her ear.

Pink hair and a handsome face hidden behind a gold and ivory mask with red checkers on the left cheek area and right forehead section. The gleam in his charcoal eyes made her smile. "Would you like to dance, Princess?" he asked as he took hold of her hand and guided her down the last three steps.

Lucy imagined that Natsu had never worn such fine clothes before. And that was a shame too because he looked amazing in his suit. His button down was snow white, his jacket and pants black as coal, and a tie was as red as a burning flame. The way he smiled at Lucy made her knees buckle, but she held her composure. Natsu was meant to be royalty, of course, had his rebel tribe not been wiped out he would be royalty.

"I would love to," Lucy replied, curtseying to him. He let out a chuckle deep from within his throat and looped her arm through his. She clung to him tightly as they began to walk towards the dance floor. Many people who were talking and dancing had stopped upon seeing Lucy and the unknown man. It was obvious that Lucy was who she was, no one could miss that golden hair, those sparkling brown eyes, her plump pink lips, curvy hips, slender waist, and of course her voluptuous chest.

Her gown was pure and white like freshly fallen snow, the top was pulled tight against her figure that was embellished in gold. It was sleeveless, exposing her smooth shoulders, and back. A sheer gold fabric was loosely hanging off her upper arms, giving her an elegant goddess look. Lucy was a vision in that room, everyone stopped and stared. The lights were turned down low, music playing softly in the background, and just like that they were dancing slow.

"Where did you learn to dance like this?" Lucy asked after a few moments of Natsu twirling her out and pulled her back in slowly. He smiled down at her and slowly dipped her back. She let her head of curls fall back, and as he slowly pulled her back up, their noses touched. There breaths mixed together as they stood in the middle of the dance floor, looking into each others eyes.

"I've watched many dances over the years," Natsu admitted as he pulled away from her and started leading her around the dance floor. "I studied their movements closely, hoping that one day I would be lucky enough to share a dance with a woman like you." He leaned forward and pressed his lips into her curly updo.

"Your so corny," Lucy giggled as she looked up at him.

Natsu shrugged his shoulders and pulled her a little tighter against his strong body. "Maybe a little," he said with a smile. Lucy closed her eyes and laid her head against his chest, just enjoying the moment as they swayed in the middle of the dance floor to the sounds of violins and a piano. "So how did you convince your father to let us slaves in here anyways?" Natsu asked upon noticing King Jude and Queen Layla on the second floor looking down at them.

"I...uh, didn't," Lucy admitted with a nervous laugh.

"That explains the angry look on his face," Natsu mentioned, causing Lucy to stop dancing. She turned around in Natsu's arms and looked up at her father, who had his lips purses and eyes narrowed at her. "DId your mother at least know?" he asked, when he saw Layla looking down at them and laughing lightly as she shook her head.

"Well...no," Lucy said as she bit her lip. "Thirsty?" she asked as she pulled Natsu off the dance floor to get out of her father scrutinizing gaze.

King Jude was about to make his way downstairs. He was about to send that slave right back into his cell at the arena. He should have known that Lucy would manage to pull off a stunt like this. She always had a mind of her own and couldn't simply follow the rules. King Jude turned and was about to go to the stairs, but Queen Layla grabbed his arm and pulled him back gently. When he turned to look at her in confusion, the Queen smiled at her King and shook her head.

"Our daughter is dancing with a slave," King Jude pointed out in a low voice, hoping his guest would not hear. "He shouldn't be here, she knows better."

"Jude," Layla said softly and looked back down at Lucy and Natsu. They were standing near the drink table. Their daughter was smiling a genuine smile that they hadn't seen in quite some time. She had this glow about her like she was truly happy, her eyes glittered with admiration as she stood their beside Natsu. They were talking like they had been friends forever, which in a sense they always had been.

A long time ago, Layla had predicted that Natsu and Lucy would one day fall in love. When they were children, they were inseparable. They were never without the other, they even used to walk hand and hand through the garden of sunflowers. When they would play on the swing together, Layla just imagined them one day getting married. Even when Natsu was taken from them, and Lucy cried for days, Queen Layla still believed they'd find each other again. As she stood there, watching the two of them she couldn't help but smile.

"You're okay with our daughter and that slave?" Jude asked, snapping Layla from her thoughts.

"Natsu," Layla corrected him as she turned to Jude. "His name is Natsu."

King Jude looked down at his wife and furrowed his brows. "Layla?"

"She's happy, Jude," Layla assured him, signaling for him to look at their daughter. As he turned to look, he swallowed hard as Lucy started to laugh at something Natsu was telling her. He sighed softly and let his shoulders sink down. "After everything we have done, I think we owe this to Lucy."

"But he-"

"No," Layla interrupted and shook her head. She put her finger tips on his lips and smiled kindly. "Natsu isn't just some slave. He is a man that cares for our daughter, and she loves him. Don't you remember what that was like Jude? To be young and in love, ignoring every other doubt just because you loved that person."

Jude stared at his wife and put his hand on her face. She leaned onto his touch and lifted her hand to his. "Okay," he said with a nod. "I'll let them have the night."

"Ah, my King and Queen," Macao greeted with a bright smile where a mask that resembled a jester. He bowed lowly to them and when he straightened up the King and Queen bowed back. "Today is the day." He looked at them gravely and pulled off his mask. The had received word two days ago that Prince Zeref would arrive at eight o'clock on the Festival of Souls. Time was ticking down, the Prince of Crocus would be arriving at the Heartfilia Mansion at any moment.

"I have the guards prepared to alert us the moment the Prince's caravan arrives at the city gates," King Jude explained, and nodded to the various guards that were stationed about the room. Macao looked to the guards and noticed that Jellal was standing by the front entrance with Gray at his side. They were still and calm as they watched the festivities taking place before them. "Keep your slaves in check," Jude warned as he waved a finger to Macao, who looked back at his King and laughed lightly.

"Gajeel and Natsu are well behaved, your grace," Macao assured him as he looked back out to the ballroom floor, spotting Natsu and Lucy about to join in a group dance with a dozen other people. His eyes drifted over to the ivory pillars where he spotted Levy standing quietly next to a very tall and stoic looking man wearing a silver and white mask. "See Gajeel is a statue and Natsu is blending in."

"Things can change the moment Zeref arrives, so watch them," Jude said before dismissing Macao. "Wait," the King said just as Macao was about to take his leave. "Where is Gildarts?"

"He wants to greet our guest when he arrives," Macao explained and walked away. King Jude nodded slowly and looked to Layla, who gave him a soft smile.

"Hopefully Zeref is in a negotiating mood upon his arrival," Jude said as he put his arm around Layla's waist and led her towards the stairs.

Gajeel watched as the King and Queen were coming down the stairs and were immediately greeted by their guest. His red eyes then darted over to the large clock on the wall above the two thrones at the far end of the room. It was ten minutes until eight o'clock. He could feel a change in the wind, the Prince of Crocus was very close and he was bringing his Twin Dragons with him. The Iron Dragon slayer licked his lips and glanced over to Natsu and Lucy as they were dancing together. Blondie was smiling brightly like nothing was wrong like it was just any other party. In a way he envied her. His eyes landed on Natsu, who was also dancing like imminent danger wasn't knocking on their door.

"Are you okay?" Levy whispered as she gently nudged Gajeel with her elbow. She was quite the beauty on this night. Her hair was in a tousled curl that fell over her bare shoulders, her dress was airy and light, and her silver mask glittered vibrantly in the candle light. Gajeel would never say it to her face, but he found her absolutely breathtaking and even now, he still hadn't manage to catch his breath.

"Yeah," he replied gruffly and looked back to Natsu as he put his hands on Lucy's waist and lifted her up from the ground, spinning her around to his other side before continuing on with the dance. "Just watching lover boy." Gajeel nodded to Natsu, who twirled Lucy around before passing her off to another man and switching to another woman. Even though Natsu and Lucy were dancing with someone else for a few short moments, their eyes never left each other.

"We can dance too," Levy mentioned quietly.

Gajeel blushed and looked at Levy. "I don't dance," he snorted, trying to hide his blush with a little hint of anger.

"Oh," Levy said and cleared her throat. "I'll go get us some drinks then."

Gajeel opened his mouth to speak, but quickly closed it as Levy walked away. He sighed in defeat and shook his head, he just wasn't the romantic type. "Damn," Gajeel cursed as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"What are you afraid of?" Juvia's voice came. Gajeel stood up straight and turned around to find Juvia coming from behind a pillar. She wore a simple light blue dress that faded to white on the hems. Her hair was put into a lovely side braid that draped over one shoulder. "If you like her, you should tell her." Juvia stopped beside Gajeel and watched the couple dancing to the upbeat music. She adjusted her blue and silver mask, tightening it so that it wouldn't fall.

"You're one to talk," Gajeel grumbled with an eye roll as he rolled up the sleeves to his dark red button down that was neatly tucked into black pants. Juvia looked to Gajeel with confusion and he scoffed. "Don't give me that look, you know what I'm talking about." His red eyes looked pointedly to Gray Fullbuster standing by the front entrance with Jellal talking to him. "You like the Popsicle don't you?"

Juvia blushed and started to stutter.

"Yeah that's what I thought," Gajeel snorted, causing Juvia to glare at him. "When you dance with Popsicle, I'll dance with Levy."

"Well then get ready to dance," Juvia said and summed up all her confidence. Gajeel furrowed his brows and watched as Juvia started walking over to Gray, weaving through the crowds of people lined along the dance floor.

Levy came back shortly after and offered Gajeel a drink. He looked at her and smiled weakly as he took the cup from her. His red eyes went back to Juvia as she approached the masked guard with black shaggy hair. He brought the cup up to his lips and sipped his drink as Juvia curtsied to the two guards.

"They look so happy," Levy said with a smile as she watched Lucy and Natsu walk off the dance floor hand in hand. For once the two of them could be together and not worry about s thing. Gajeel nodded in agreement and looked down at Levy as she slightly leaned again him. She was so small and fragile, but Gajeel also knew she was stronger than she looked. "I hope that you and Natsu can defeat Zeref's army."

"We aren't alone anymore," Gajeel reminded her and pointed to the various Dragon Slayers in the room. Wendy was talking to some girls her own age while Laxus was leaning against a pillar watch over her. On the second floor, Macao was standing with Cobra as they watched the party below. "Everything will be okay, Levy, I promise." He put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it gently.

"I hope your right," Levy said.

Gajeel put his cup down on the table in arms reach. He turned to face Levy and carefully reached for her mask, pulling it from her face delicately. Her brown eyes were locked with his red ones as he slowly started to lean towards her, his hand gently pushing her hair back over her shoulder. Just when they were a mere inch apart, the music stopped playing. Gajeel lifted back up and turned to the main entrance.

Levy's eyes widened as the door creaked open and everyone parted. She quickly looked over to Lucy, who was standing by Natsu. He put his arm around her protectively and narrowed his eyes as three figures appeared in the doorway. Levy grabbed Gajeel's arm tightly and watched just like everyone else as the three figures came into the light of the room. Gajeel glanced down at Levy and placed his hand over one of hers. She looked up at him and smiled at him before looking back at the three as they walked towards the dance floor.

"Remain calm, all of you," Gildarts spoke softly, knowing that the five Dragon Slayers would hear him loud and clear. He was watching from the top balcony with Loke by his side. "He brought those two here just to intimidate you. Don't fall for it."

Natsu narrowed his eyes when his saw the Twin Dragons of Crocus, Sting Eucliffe and Rogue Cheney, standing on either side of Prince Zeref of Crocus. He glanced over to Laxus, who pushed off the wall and clenched his fist tightly at his side. Natsu took in a deep breath and looked up to the second level where Cobra was standing by the railing, glaring down at them.

"Stay close, Luce," Natsu said to the blonde standing beside him.

She looked up at him and nodded once before looking back to Zeref. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her mother and father walking across the dance floor. They both stopped five steps away from Zeref and bowed to him. Lucy watched closely as they straightened back up and looked to Zeref.

"Welcome to Magnolia," King Jude said graciously. "I hope your trip went well, Prince Zeref."

"You have a beautiful city, King Jude," Prince Zeref commented and looked around the room. "I look forward to my stay here." His dark eyes moved to Lucy, who stiffened as he began to approach.

"Natsu," Gildarts warned, knowing that he wouldn't keep it together. "Don't do anything stupid."

"Princess," Zeref said with a slight bow. Lucy stared at him for a moment before returning the bow. She swallowed hard and wished that Zeref would just leave. "It has been a long time, you look well."

Lucy nodded stiffly. "As do you, Prince Zeref."

He smirked and held his hand out to her. "May I have this dance?"


	33. Darkness

**Author's Note: **So sorry for the delay! Hopefully this chapter was worth the wait, I had very little time to write this week. Thank you to everyone who commented on the last chapter, I appreciate your feedback. Also I put up a new one shot called **Blank Space** featuring the pairing Laxus and Mirajane, I know it's not one of the most popular, but it seemed to fit them well. Anyways, please tell me what you think, I love to read all of your comments. Until next time everyone!

**Warnings: **AU. Sexual Content. Cursing. Violence.

* * *

**Darkness**

Darkness.

That was the only thing Lucy could describe about Prince Zeref. When she first met him last summer when she arrived at Crocus, he didn't seem near as dark. There was something evil and sinister within him, it was a perfect storm, raging like an unrelenting nightmare. His dark eyes bore into hers as they slowly spun around the dance floor. They were the only ones dancing to the slow melody of strings that resonated loudly in the dome shaped room. Lucy was reluctant to dance with him, especially with Natsu with her. As a Princess of Magnolia though, it was her duty to oblige, regardless of her true feelings. She had to keep up appearances, and she had to keep her friends, family, and people safe from the dark Prince.

Five minutes ago, Zeref had asked Lucy for a dance. Natsu didn't seem to keen on the idea, but she accepted. Now, Natsu had sunken back into the shadows of the room. She knew he was watching, she could feel his eyes on them as they glided across the floor. It wasn't jealously that was drinking the Fire Dragon Slayer, it was fear. He feared what Zeref would do to her, but Lucy didn't get the feeling Zeref intended on hurting her. If anything, she felt as though Zeref wanted her trust. And to Lucy that was far scarier than anything else Zeref could have wanted. She had a strong feeling in the pit of her stomach that Zeref only meant to gain her trust so that he could use her.

"You look beautiful, Princess," Zeref spoke, snapping Lucy from her inner thoughts. She locked eyes with him and smiled weakly. "Your kingdom is quite the sight as well." He twirled her around and pulled her close again, his hand on her hip and the other holding her hand. They continued to waltz across the room, everyone whispering in hushed tones. It wasn't a secret that Princess Lucy and Prince Zeref would be a powerful marriage, uniting two of the most powerful kingdoms of Fiore. In all reality though, Magnolia paled in comparison to the power and wealth of Crocus.

"Why have you come here, Prince Zeref?" Lucy inquired, trying to change the subject. She wasn't going to beat around the bush and pretend. If Zeref dared to harm anything in Magnolia, Lucy would face him the whole way. She refused to let him have the Zodiac or kill anymore innocent people. Her brown eyes drifted to his two Dragon Slayers he had brought along with him. During her time in Crocus she had heard many stories about the great Twin Dragons of Crocus, but she had never seen them together. On several occasions she had seen Sting Eucliffe at fancy dinner parties, however they never spoke to one another. Rogue Cheney on the other than was much more reclusive, he was hardly around, always hiding in the shadows.

"I have come to witness the Exhibition Games, of course," Zeref explained, but Lucy only scrunched up her nose. She didn't believe him, not even for a second. There was more to it, she knew it was about the Zodiac and the Dragon Slayers. Surely, Zeref wasn't idiotic enough to believe they didn't know his plan. Lucy needed to figure out his plan, she needed to know what course of action he was going to take. Would he be patient and wait? Or would he strike the moment he found an opening? Either way, Magnolia needed to be on it's guard.

"I don't believe you," Lucy said just before Zeref let her swing out and twirl back in. "You're lying," she finished when she twirled back in. The dark haired Prince only smirked and spun Lucy back to where she was facing him.

"Why so serious? This is a party, Princess Lucy, enjoy it," Zeref noted with a coy smile. He was like a snake, the way his eyes looked, the paleness of his skin, the smoothness of his voice. Lucy would name him the epitome of darkness if she could. "And I am not lying, Princess. I speak only the truth, there is no need to get hostile."

The music finished and the two stopped moving. They stared at each other for a few seconds before separating as people began to clap for them. Zeref bowed to the Princess, and Lucy took in a sharp breath before curtseying. The Prince smiled at her and snapped his fingers, causing Lucy's brows to furrow. Sting and Rogue approached, and Lucy watched them carefully, wondering what he was planning. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see both Loke and Natsu standing tall, prepared to intercept any sort of attack. She tilted her head slightly as Sting pulled out a small velvet box from his coat pocket.

Zeref took the box from the blond Dragon Slayer and looked back to Lucy. "A gift," the Prince spoke as he pulled the lid off of the box. Lucy's eyes widened as she saw the sparkling pendent on a silver chain. The jewel was beautiful, the way it sparkled in its teardrop shape laid in silver and two small sapphire stones on either side at the top. "Something this beautiful, deserves to be worn by someone worthy of it's beauty. Princess Lucy, I present to you a royal family heirloom, Isadora." He lifted the necklace from the box and passed it off to Sting.

Lucy stared at the beautiful jewel as it sparkled in the candle light from around the room. Everyone had fallen silent again as Zeref stood before the Prince with such a piece. She swallowed hard and slowly turned around, so Zeref could put the necklace on. When she had her back to him, she spotted her mother and father with Gildarts at the foot of the stairwell, watching closely. Zeref's hands slowly went around her neck as he pulled the chain up and clasped them together. Lucy closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. She slowly let it out as she turned back around to face Zeref. Just past the Prince, Natsu watched with dark eyes. Lucy looked away from Natsu and met Zeref's crimson gaze.

"Gorgeous," Zeref commented.

"Thank you, Prince Zeref, it's lovely," Lucy said politely.

He nodded in appreciation and looked around the room at the many people staring as if they were some sort of performance spectacle. Putting his hands behind his back, Zeref looked at everyone, making a circle. He stopped when his eyes landed on Natsu. Zeref knew full well that Natsu Dragneel was a fire Dragon Slayer, and a powerful one at that. He licked his lips and came full circle to Lucy, who was standing patiently before him.

"King Heartfilia, Queen Heartfilia, and people of the Magnolian Crown, it is an honor to be welcomed into your city. You have my sincere gratitude for throwing such a lovely masquerade upon my arrival during the Festival of Souls. I look forward to the Exhibition Games, to see what your city has to offer in lieu of the Colosseum Battles this coming summer, I wish you all the best of luck. Please enjoy the rest of the evening," Prince Zeref announced as he held his hands out to his sides, gesturing to the marvelous party surrounding him. Everyone clapped or raised their glasses to his announcement and the music began once again along with people chattering. "Princess," Zeref bid a farewell to the young woman and bowed slightly before walking to her parents with Sting and Rogue in tow.

Lucy slowly raised her hand and touched the pendant hanging from her neck. She looked down at it and closed her eyes. There wasn't anything evil about it, she didn't feel weird, it seemed to be simply a friendly gesture to win her over. When Lucy opened her eyes, she moved her hand from the pendent and looked to her parents as they spoke with Zeref and showed him to his seat where he could view the entire party. She bit her lip and shook her head slowly. For the next ten days, Zeref would be staying within the Heartfilia mansion walls. It wasn't going to be easy, but she had to do what was best for her kingdom.

"Lucy," Natsu spoke, gaining Lucy's attention. She smiled up at him as he put his hand gently on her shoulder and touched her cheek. His warmth calmed her nerves and soothed her down to her very core. "Are you okay?" he asked with genuine concern, searching her eyes for answers.

Lucy nodded her head. "I'm perfectly alright," she assured him, placing her hand on his own. Natsu sighed in relief and rubbed the back of her head, pulling her forward to place a chaste kiss on her forehead. Lucy blushed slightly and looked up at Natsu. "This pendent, I think it's just a simple pendent." She gestured to the jewel around her neck, and Natsu examined it closely. His fingers brushed over it, his eyes searching for anything malicious or magic related. It seemed harmless to him, so he shook his head.

"I think it's okay," Natsu affirmed. "He's just trying to win your affection."

Lucy smirked. "You sound jealous," she teased with a little giggle. Natsu chuckled and shook his head, taking hold of Lucy's hands.

"I have nothing to be jealous about," he whispered in her ear, kissing her cheek. Lucy blushed and looked into Natsu's eyes, agreeing with his words. "I love you, Lucy," Natsu said softly as he laced their fingers together.

"I love you too," Lucy beamed as she leaned forward to kiss him. Just as her lips were about to touch his, Lucy closed her eyes and pulled back. Natsu swallowed hard and sighed softly, nodding his head in understanding. "I'm sorry," she whispered to him, but he shook his head.

"When the time is right," he replied, brushing the side of her face with his knuckles. "I have to go, Gildarts is yelling at me."

Lucy blinked a few times. "I don't hear him," she stated as she looked around for him.

"I have sensitive hearing," he explained with a shrug. "Perks of being a Dragon Slayer." He winked at her and let go of her hands before walking away. She was about to follow him, but Loke walked over to her.

"It's an amplifier," Loke commented as his eyes were fixed on the jewel around her neck. "I don't sense any kind of darkness or evil from it, but it is definitely a cosmos amplifier." He looked up to Lucy, who furrowed her brows.

"An amplifier?" she repeated in question.

Loke nodded his head. "It will give you more power to summon celestial spirits. He gave it to you for a reason," the King of the Zodiac assured her.

"He came here for a reason," Lucy corrected, looking over to Prince Zeref as he sat quietly at his lavish gold throne cushioned with red velvet pillows. "Are the Keys safe?" Lucy asked him.

Loke nodded his head. "They are not within the mansion walls, your mother made sure of that." He looked down at Lucy and placed a hand on her shoulder. She placed her hand on top of his, and squeezed it gently. "Don't panic, Luce, everything will be fine. Why don't you go out to the garden and get some fresh air? I'll come for you in a few minutes."

Lucy nodded and excused herself as she made her way to the floor to ceiling glass doors that led to her families private garden. As she was walking towards the doors, she stopped when she spotted Gray and Juvia standing behind a pillar. She watched them for a moment and noticed that Juvia looked a little panicked. Gray appeared to be comforting her, but Juvia was just very shaken. Lucy bit her lip and walked over to them.

"Is everything okay?" Lucy asked when she was within earshot of the two.

"Princess," Gray said formally, bowing to her slightly. She hated when he did that, but as it was a formal event in front of noblemen and citizens of Magnolia, Gray had to keep up appearances. "We have a possible problem."

"Problem?" Lucy repeated with knitted brows.

"Juvia and I were standing out front, talking when we found that Prince Zeref brought along someone else," Gray explained, but Lucy wasn't exactly following. "Jose Porla is here."

Lucy gasped and looked to Juvia, who nodded slowly. "It's okay," the Princess assured the blue haired woman. "Gray, you need to get her out of here. The last thing we need is a scene." The soldier looked to the Princess, but nodded in agreement before putting an arm around Juvia and leading her away.

"Porla's here is he?" Gajeel growled as he came towards Lucy, who was watching Gray lead Juvia out through the kitchen area. When she looked back to the Iron Dragon Slayer, she could see the anger and fire in his eyes.

"Gajeel," Lucy warned, gaining his attention. "Save it for the arena, we can't risk anything right now."

"I know," Gajeel replied with a curt nod.

Lucy smiled weakly and clasped her hands in front of herself. "Why don't you enjoy the evening? Spend sometime with Levy, I'm sure she would really like it if you danced with her."

Gajeel blinked a few times, taken by surprise at Lucy's change of subject. "I mean," he cleared his throat. "I guess, I could."

"You should," Lucy smiled and nodded. She looked across the way and saw Levy standing quietly besides Macao, who was speaking with some sort of dignitary of the city. "Go on," Lucy ushered, pushing him in the direction of the beautiful maiden dressed in a simple, yet elegant sunshine yellow gown that draped around her beautifully. Gajeel stumbled forward, gaining Levy's attention.

She giggled at him and excused herself from Macao and the gentleman he was speaking with. As she made her way over to Gajeel, she curtsied and Gajeel looked worried and nervous. Lucy chuckled at the scene. The usual, brawny, strong, and fearless Gajeel was awestruck by little sweet Levy McGarden.

"Are you okay?" Levy asked Gajeel with a smile.

"Dance?" he muttered, holding his hand out to her.

Lucy shook her head and slapped a hand onto her forehead.

Levy stared at Gajeel's hand for a moment and laughed lightly. She nodded her head and placed her hand in his and just like that they were dancing. Happy with her work, Lucy quietly slipped outback to get a little fresh air.

Across the room, Zeref smirked and beckoned Sting to come forth. The blond sighed heavily and approached the Prince's throne, bending over slightly to hear what the Prince had to say. "Why don't you rattle up the Princess and her Dragon Slayer lover?" Zeref inquired, causing Sting to smirk. He loved causing scenes and rattling people, it was one of his favorite pastimes.

"It would be my pleasure," Sting replied as he bowed to Zeref and quietly slipped away, gaining no ones attention as he made his way towards the garden doors.

* * *

**-xOx-**

* * *

Juvia and Gray were on an empty back road that went back to the arena, where Juvia was staying and helping Levy and Macao. The moonlight illuminated their path as they walked side by side in complete silence. In the distance there was a sound of music and people chattering back in the town square and market area. The rest of the city was undisturbed, which worked out well in their favor.

"Do you think Zeref is planning something?" Juvia asked, breaking the silence.

"He is, Juvia, there is no question about it," Gray replied as he stared straight ahead down the road. Jellal had said it over and over again during their training sessions with the rest of the troops that they must be weary of any nobles in Magnolia. A coup was expected to happen, and it was apparently a long time coming. King Jude had called forth all the heads of his departments and their seconds, informing them that this years Colosseum Battles could lead to a civil war in Magnolia. For the past eight years, the King had been in the line of fire to be removed from the throne. It appeared that Zeref's father had won the ear of several powerful nobles in Magnolia, and they believed that King Jude was unfit to lead the Kingdom.

"Jose Porla leads a group of powerful mages, Gray, if he intends to strike the Kingdom, we should intervene before it's too late," Juvia said softly, and Gray sighed heavily. He agreed with her, they needed to do something. Unfortunately, one wrong move on their part and it would no longer be a civil war, but a war between Kingdoms.

"It's not that simple," Gray informed her. "I wish it was, but if we instigate a fight, we could end up in a war that we are not ready for. That's a risk we can't take."

"I see," Juvia whispered as they continued walking along in silence. They were halfway to the arena. "Gray, why are you helping me?"

He looked at her taken aback by her question. "Cause no one should have to face their battles alone," he answered with a kind smile, placing a hand on her shoulder. They had stopped walking, and Juvia looked up at him with a glow in her eyes. No one had ever been so kind to her, and Gray never had a reason to be. She didn't even think, all she did was throw her arms around him, holding him tight. Gray stiffened, shocked by her sudden gesture, but softened in time and hugged her back.

"Thank you," she whispered as she buried her face into the crook of his neck.

"Awe, what a luke warm sentiment," a voice interrupted. Juvia and Gray both pulled apart and looked around. They heard footsteps and spotted a shadowed figure coming forth. He stopped under the light of a street lamp, and Gray's eyes widened. "You always were kind, Gray."

"Lyon!" Gray exclaimed in pure and utter shock. "You're..." he trailed as he shook his head.

"Alive," Lyon smirked, running his fingers through his snow colored hair. "Yeah, how about that?"


End file.
